Results 6,001-6,020 of 35,563 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Will the Minister outline how many people are already availing of the cycle-to-work scheme and what provisions are in place to gather data on it?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: We do not have accurate estimates for the scheme. Revenue is not collating the numbers; the Department is just estimating them. Is that correct? The Minister is saying we do not have any definitive numbers as to how many people are applying for it. Given the value of the scheme now with electric cargo bikes and being able to avail of €3,000, is there any intention to have actual...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I thank the Minister for his response. There are two things I would mention. I know we are coming to section 8, which I agree with. I have no issues with section 7 either, for the record. Under section 8 things like the voucher scheme will be a reportable benefit. That was €500 and has now gone up to €1,000. This is up to €3,000. There is no reason this would not...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: This section deals with tax credits and the income tax package of the budget. There was a number of ways we could ensure that taxpayers benefited in the budget. The Minister chose to do a number of things but the largest component was the increase in the standard-rate band. The full-year cost of that is €739 million. Given that only 23% of income earners are expected to pay at the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: We are not going to see eye to eye on the distributional impact of the measures we each propose but let us clarify two things. The Minister says that he did this because he wanted the 23% of income earners who pay tax at the higher rate to benefit because they will not benefit from the other measures that the Minister for Social Protection brought in. What measures that the Minister for...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: It is still okay for us to rely on the Tax Strategy Group papers, in particular table 5, which tells us that the number of income earners paying the higher rate of tax is 647,200, representing 23% of earners. Those figures are accurate.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Is it fair to say that medium individual earners are excluded from the benefits of this package, given that they were on €30,628 in 2019?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: We are discussing a tax measure worth €750 million. Would it be accurate to say that medium individual earners will not benefit from it?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister says that 10% more people will benefit than I say will, but will they actually benefit? Is it not the case that their tax credits will absorb their liability?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: In theory, or in Paschal's head, they will benefit and hundreds of thousands of people will be better off, but how much more cash will they actually have as a result of this measure?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: They will not benefit.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Yes.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister is now changing-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: You have-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: There is one matter that both of us should be able to settle on, namely, the accurate figures that come from the Minister's Department. The Minister keeps referring to average people and average earners. He has dodged the question, but it is the case that someone on a medium income will not benefit one cent from the increase in the standard rate cut-off point, a measure that will cost...