Results 43,341-43,360 of 46,456 for speaker:Simon Harris

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: Less risky in terms of the chances of one actually paying one's taxes. It is a judgment that Revenue makes. I outlined in my speaking note, which I know was quite technical, the position on people who are registered and known to Revenue versus people who Revenue do not have any knowledge of. It is a technical change. I appreciate it is an important change but this principle already...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: It is not a panacea for everything but it is an honest effort to improve that situation.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: Revenue will not be seeking recourse to the individual who made a donation in good faith. I am happy to clarify that. It is not a case that if one made a donation to a charity, presuming it was still a charity, Revenue will come knocking on one's door. That is not the case. I will outline for the Deputy the effect of this section. The amendments being made apply only to approved bodies...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: Donald Trump is not a little guy.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: We do. I cannot let the Deputy's comment stand. The tax system in Ireland has many complexities. I argue, and the Deputy will disagree with me, that the Government has taken measures in the budget to improve the lot of everybody paying income tax and USC. If we want our small open economy to prosper we must keep trying to attract key decision-makers. They do not pay tax here because they...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I am pleased to do so. The provision is another attempt to align what we are doing on the tax side in terms of support for businesses wishing to look at exporting and spending time in emerging markets. We are aligning the list of countries that are eligible, under this initiative, with the integrated plan for trade, tourism and investment by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: For three years I have tried to convince the Deputy to agree with me on an issue so let us give it a go. Much of what the Deputy referenced relates more to the Construction Contracts Act than to the tax side and, therefore, it would be important to get that Act implemented. Responsibility for the Construction Contracts Act has been given to the Minister of State at the Department of Jobs,...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: This is the joy of tax. Where a withholding tax should have applied to the payment, this is not available as a credit to the subcontractor as the subcontractor received the payment in full without the operation of the relevant contracts tax but the principal is liable for the RCT which should have been deducted from the payment. In addition, the principal contractor is liable to a penalty...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: There is no specific job creation requirement under this legislation. The point, and I have raised it with Deputy O'Donnell and others already, is that it brings key decision makers and those with key skill-sets to Irish boardrooms and to companies based here, so that it better positions Ireland and also multinational companies based in Ireland or with operations in Ireland to attract...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I hear what the Deputy is saying but I am not familiar with it. The Government is committed to job creation and one can only presume that the Tánaiste was talking about doing everything possible to continue to create jobs. I have outlined the specific references to SARP in the legislation, and this is not in it.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: Let me start with Deputy Creighton's points, as she perhaps has more eloquently outlined what I have been trying to outline since we started our discussion on section 13. There is a jobs benefit in terms of attracting these people and every job that is created is to be welcomed. I have given members the figures. The creation of 25 jobs is not something to be sneered at, but it is about...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I am not sure where the figure of 5,000 jobs, to which the Deputy alludes is coming from. I am not sure whether it was ever a stated intention that this relief would deliver 5,000 jobs.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: With the permission of the Chair, I must respond because I do not want Deputy Doherty to get upset if I do not answer his question. This is part of the roadmap for Ireland's tax competitiveness. It is important to convey that this is not just a stand-alone measure. It is one of the offerings to attract more foreign direct investment to Ireland. The figure of 100 people alluded to by the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: This is where my clawback comes into play. If the person arrives in June or July Deputy Doherty is correct that he or she is eligible for it for a portion of the year, but the person will have given a commitment under the legislation to be here for a minimum of 12 months. Should he or she leave before this 12 months he or she will not be eligible for the next portion of it in the next year,...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I stand by what I said, if the person does not spend 12 months as a relevant employee he or she will not be eligible and will be reassessed for any potential eligibility which had derived from the period he or she was here in the previous year. The person must stay the 12 months and this is how Revenue will administer the scheme.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is correct that one is eligible for the relief from day one, but a commitment must have been given to be here for 12 months and should the person not be here for the full 12 months he or she is no longer eligible and therefore can be reassessed by Revenue. The Deputy is correct one is eligible for the relief from day one, but this eligibility is tied in with being here for a...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I accept the argument made by the Deputy, but I have outlined how Revenue administers the scheme with regard to somebody who does not stay for the 12 months. The Deputy reads the legislation as he does, it is administered by Revenue on the basis I have outlined. I will seek further clarity.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: They must, and if they do not perform the duties for 12 months the relief can be clawed back.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: I do not want to get overly pedantic, but the legislation is legally interpreted in the way I have outlined. One could argue the legislation does not state "who performed the duties for 12 months" but "who performs the duties for 12 months" therefore someone is eligible from day one. I do not mean to be pedantic, I am just giving my reading of it, which tallies with how Revenue interprets...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2014)

Simon Harris: The provision with regard to 12 months has.