Results 12,341-12,360 of 32,547 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: If there are, I want to understand them. In the run-up to next year's Finance Bill, the Department of Finance and I are looking forward to understanding why this is happening and how and why tax credits are being drawn down.

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will make two points. It may well be the case that the uncertain and transitory nature of the industry is beyond the ability of tax policy to influence. However, the Government will soon produce an action plan on the further development of the audiovisual sector in Ireland. As I said, we make a valuable tax credit available. There are certain criteria for that tax credit and we expect...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Local authorities have development levies and those levies are there to try to ensure that development activity is taxed. I do not think Deputy Boyd Barrett's argument holds up. He has drawn a distinction between a wealth asset and a wealth-producing asset. Somebody's house is their home, for nearly all people, and I respect that. I am very sensitive to how people feel about the local...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Boyd Barrett and I have debated this issue on many occasions and he is correct that I have deferred the revaluation date for the local property tax to 1 November 2020. Significant work needs to be delivered next year. It can be delivered, but it will require consensus in the House for that to happen. I differ with the Deputy in that I believe that the local property tax is an...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I take the Deputy's point that in the context of climate change, there is much change we will need to make to incentivise the sector through the kinds of reliefs we are discussing and the greater role of training, and to ensure that those involved in running farms have the best knowledge and support available to them. Perhaps to move the issue forward and address the issue Deputies...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The refundable rate will continue to be 2%. The stamp duty rate will increase from 6% to 7.5% but the refundable rate of 2% will remain unchanged. That is dealt with in section 55. On the question about the impact of the scheme, early indications are that it is working well and as expected. Of the applications thus far received, 911 have been successful, of which 839 related to the...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The young trained farmer stamp duty relief provides for full exemption from stamp duty on transfers of farm land to certain young trained farmers. To qualify, the farmer receiving the transfer must be less than 35 years of age on the date of execution of the deed of transfer; must have attained a minimum agricultural education from a list set out in legislation; must for a period of five...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Michael McGrath's question about definitions will be dealt with by guidance that will be issued by the Revenue Commissioners. That is the appropriate way to deal with it. If we were to look to define either a food or a food supplement by way of a legal definition, it would be a catalyst for this issue to continue to cause problems into the future. We can be certain that shortly...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: To take a step back, what is at issue is that we have a part of the economy which is arguing that no tax should be levied on the products it sells. I am faced with such claims every day as Minister for Finance. There are many politicians in the Chamber today who are very experienced in these matters and often suspicious of such claims when they are put forward for other parts of the...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: A number of issues were raised. I am not hiding behind anyone in respect of this matter. It has been the subject of a great deal of debate on Committee Stage and in the Chamber. I answer questions relating to it, not the Revenue Commissioners. That is my job. I am not hiding behind them, but I listen to their advice. The advice they have given me, which has persuaded me, is that the way...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, we are going to try to implement this measure as soon as possible. We are confident we will be able to do it. I take the point made by Deputy O'Keeffe. I know that bookies are also places to socialise. I agree with the Deputy and I would prefer to see bets being placed in an atmosphere in which they can be better regulated and it is just simply the case this can be done if there is a...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy McGrath raised this issue on Committee Stage. The proposed change to the WLTP was something with which elements in the motor industry had many concerns, particularly if it was going to be combined with the changes we are now making in carbon pricing. It is fair to say there is a possibility of a mismatch for a period of time but, of course, for diesel vehicles people will also pay...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for his constructive approach to this. There will be significant changes in very important areas in motor taxation. The WLTP system in particular and the need to implement it in Ireland is a very important and complex move. There are other moves with regard to car taxation that I believe will need to be made. The tax strategy group papers will provide a very valuable...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I appreciate the issues raised by the Deputies. The first issue is the impact that the increase in betting duty had on the sector over the year. It is difficult for us to assess what the effect is of the change in betting duty in isolation, given all the other factors that affect smaller and independent bookmakers currently. The move to betting via mobile devices and phones has been a big...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for the points he has made. Much of this has focused on where we are in respect of the agricultural contractor. The Deputies will be aware such contractors are excluded from this particular scheme because reliefs under section 664A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 require a person to occupy farmland, which agricultural contractors do not. That is why they are not...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will respond to those who engaged in constructive discussion, namely Deputies O'Keeffe and Fitzmaurice. Alas, Deputy Mattie McGrath is not here to be excluded from that definition. Deputy Fitzmaurice makes a fair point. I am not at all blind to the point he is making. I accept that much work on farms is not carried out by individuals who fall inside the definition of "farmer" used in...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputies for their contributions. Deputy Fitzmaurice has already gone through these issues and I will not repeat the views we exchanged earlier. I take a different view to the Deputy on the matters he is referring to but I respect all he knows about these issues and the way he is putting them forward. I do not believe Deputy McGrath understands the haulage sector at all and he...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will come back to the Deputy with a note on that. VAT does apply to the value of the total bill. On Deputy Boyd Barrett's remarks, the reason we are continuing with liquid natural gas for a time is because it is a transitional fuel that we believe is necessary to ensure we are able to meet the State's energy needs. In order to proceed with an ambitious retrofitting programme for local...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I will comment on each of the contributions. Deputy Boyd Barrett knows that I have great respect for the different points he makes and the views he brings to Dáil Éireann but this will be one of my contributions in which the differences between us are more apparent than what we have in common. I continue to be reminded of the near uniqueness of the Irish left. On the one hand, it...

Finance Bill 2019: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: He did not say that, though.