Results 13,301-13,320 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that for reasons of taxpayer confidentiality, it is not possible to provide the information requested. However, if the Deputy wishes to supply a VAT number the Revenue Commissioners can check that it is a valid VAT number.

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: The issues recently highlighted in the U.K. arose from special rules applied in that jurisdiction that provide for a reduced rate of capital gains tax on such profits in certain circumstances. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the profits generated here by persons running private equity funds are taxed in the normal way without the application of special rules.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: These are choices. About 70% of the windfall elements of capital taxation went towards further reducing national debt. That is what one does with windfall taxes. One does not project forward provisional services on the basis of the windfall because it might not be repeated. When the recession hit the European and the wider economy in 2001, we saw how quickly our revenue base can dwindle....

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I thank the Deputy.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: There is an element of Je ne sais quoi about Deputy Durkan today.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: On amendment No. 2, the programme for Government contains a commitment to establish a commission on taxation, which would give a wide remit to consider the structure of the taxation system. The commission will be charged with examining the balance achieved between taxes collected on income capital and spending and reporting on it and reviewing all tax expenditures with a view to making...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Labour Party leader said it would be done as he was coming down in the car from Áras an Uachtaráin. That is how matters progress, how the debate develops and how it all works out in the end. When he was in the Seanad, Deputy Mansergh made the point on the Finance Bill at the time this issue was raging — he repeated it in recent days — that we need to be careful because issues such...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I greatly respect Deputy Barrett and what he had to say. However, the logic of his final point places an obligation on me to implement Fine Gael policies in Government.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: That is the point.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: Far more voted for my party than Deputy Barrett's, although I accept there were many other issues. His point was, however, well articulated. As we all knocked on constituency doors we all came across stamp duty as an issue. It is not a question of looking at the issue with a narrow financial focus — I am talking about equity. Why, as would be the case in the fully developed version of...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: That is a point of view. However, the main point is that we have seen a reduction of taxes on labour and moving towards taxes on capital. That has happened. Since we came into office, the capital tax take as a percentage of total tax revenues has risen in this administration from 4.6% to almost 16% last year. That is a fourfold increase from the time we came into office. We did that to...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Order for Committee Stage. (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I move: "That Committee Stage be taken now."

Order of Business (27 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: All of Deputy Kenny's people are at their phones waiting for the formation of the front bench.

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: Stamp Duty from residential property in 2006, the latest full year for which details are available, made up approximately 35 per cent of the total Stamp Duty yield in that year. While my Department does not base its forecasts of Stamp Duty yield for the residential property sector on the number of transactions at the different rates of duty, a breakdown of the 52,901 such transactions in 2006...

Written Answers — Programmes for Government: Programmes for Government (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy may be aware, a full progress report on the Programme for Government between Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats of June 2002 was published in April 2007 and is available on the Department of the Taoiseach website. As outlined in that report, substantial progress has been made on meeting the targets set out in the Programme for Government. In the finance area good progress...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I assume that the Deputy is referring to the application of Financial Reporting Standard 17 — known as FRS 17 — that requires annual accounts to show the total accrued value of future pension liabilities in respect of staff. FRS 17 is applied through-out the private sector and in the accounts of all commercial State bodies. In the public service, FRS 17 does not arise in the case of...

Written Answers — Public Investment Projects: Public Investment Projects (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I announced a comprehensive package of measures in October 2005 to achieve better Value for Money on major capital and ICT projects. As one element of these measures, which are codified in a Department of Finance letter on Value-for-Money of January 2006, each Department and Sponsoring Agency must appoint an individual as Project Manager for each capital project at the planning/procurement...

Written Answers — House Prices: House Prices (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: At the outset, I would like to remind the Deputy that it is not appropriate for me to speculate on the likely path of interest rates, as these are set by the ECB which is independent. That said, I do not consider that potential first time buyers are facing exclusion from the housing market. There are several reasons why this is the case. The first is that mortgage interest relief was doubled...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: The commitment in the Government Programme is to use tax credits and bands to keep low income earners out of the standard rate band and average earners out of the higher band. For 2007, in terms of gross liability to tax before the application of tax credits, the position is that a person earning the average wage, estimated to be about €33,000, will not face a liability to tax at the...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: The accrued pensions liability in respect of all current public servants is estimated at €45 billion. This figure represents the present value of the liability to make future superannuation payments to serving employees and their dependants in respect of service to date. The National Pensions Reserve Fund was set up under the National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000. The Act provides for...