Results 11,281-11,300 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: I never found Mao convincing and I am surprised that Fine Gael does.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: If one spends a long time in the wilderness one will take up anybody.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: I am only joking.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: I want to be sure we are getting into water not mercury.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: That is what Deputy Bruton loves.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: I can feel the Deputy's hand on my back already.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: When I introduced this measure in the Finance Act 2006, the limit was set at â¬10,000. I increased it by 50% last year to â¬15,000, but there was not much of a take-up, for a number of reasons. Although the relief was always targeted at small-scale child care operations, I felt at the time that â¬15,000 was a more realistic figure, given the costs of child care. The tax returns for the...
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: The Deputy unnerved me with his analysis this morning about the tax bases.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: No, the Deputy unnerved me.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: The amendment before us relates to doubling the home carer credit from â¬770 to â¬1,540 in one go. The budget increased it from â¬770 to â¬900 as part of an overall programme for Government commitment. Every year Ministers for Finance make certain choices on taxation and expenditure and overall budgetary parameters. While less than in previous years, the personal tax package, including...
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: The argument certainly contained a suggestion that one was less committed to married couples with one earner as a result of this measure. Clearly, if one had a home carer credit, as Deputy Bruton suggested, of â¬1,540 rather than â¬900, it would be of greater benefit. The fact is, however, that the tax package I devised was geared towards the lower end. I have made the point that married...
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: I am explaining where the burden of taxation resides. I am making the point that while it would do something, it would not do a whole lot to help the people in question. The suggestion that married couples with one earner are being ignored is not correct. By the same token, there was not a move on the rate of â¬770 since it was introduced in 2000. The issue was discussed in the debate on...
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: While I do not wish to deviate beyond the parameters of the Finance Bill, I will not take lectures on social conscience from the Deputy, given his support for past atrocities.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: The Deputy should try to avoid that temptation. He should respect the incumbent rather than playing that game. I do not regard it as flattery. Others had smart-ass comments to make about it.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: I know that.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: No problem. The personal tax credits available to couples with dependent children depend on their marital status and income. They range from one single tax credit for a one-income cohabiting couple to the equivalent of four single tax credits for a separated or divorced married couple, or a former cohabiting couple, each with income. The situation where up to four single credits are...
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: In the last seven years we have seen an increasing population with the changes we have had. I do not suggest for one moment that it is all down to the tax system. There are social phenomena and societal values at play which go way beyond the tax code. Drawing conclusions from one point to another may not be a very sound method by which to devise tax policy. We are trying to make things...
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: I did not say that.
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: Did the Deputy not support the Fine Gael proposal?
- Finance Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2008)
Brian Cowen: Before the sos, we had a discussion on this amendment similar to that on Committee Stage. All I can say is that the manner in which Deputies characterise the work of the commission, which met for the first time this morning, is very unfortunate. Members are entitled to their views on any individual or what they regard as the orientation or composition of the commission, but attacking its...