Results 13,561-13,580 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector Issues (28 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: As the deputy will be aware, during recent Review Missions of the Troika the Irish authorities have discussed the issues relating to the high cost of funding banks’ tracker mortgage books and the related impact of the negative carry, relative to the interest rate received on the mortgages, on net interest margin and profitability. We are continuing to explore all possible options in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Taxation Assessments (28 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that yield and compliance data for the Local Property Tax (LPT) for 2013 are compiled on the basis of the number of properties and broken down by city and county councils nationally. The most up to date figures are published on the Revenue Commissioners website at: . LPT Returns for 2013 are still being filed and work is on-going to refine the LPT...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Expenditure Reviews (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: We are in the same space. While some work in this areas remains to be done, quite a lot has been done already. It is a task jointly shared by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and my Department. Under the Oireachtas (Ministers and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has put the multi-annual ceilings on a statutory...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Expenditure Reviews (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: Yes; we will look at anything. However, the advice I have received is that what the Senator is asking to be done under law is already or about to be covered by it. I agree that the manner in which national statistics are presented makes them difficult to follow.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Expenditure Reviews (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: I thank Senator Healy Eames for her very interesting contribution, which was a little different from the matter notified to my Department. I will deal with my prepared response first and then address what she has said. I have no plans to amend the Fiscal Responsibility Act as suggested by the Senator as there is no need to do so for the following reasons. With regard to the first statement...

Topical Issue Debate: Illicit Trade in Tobacco (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: I fully support the Minister for Health in introducing plain packaging. We will not be diverted from that by any correspondence we receive from vested interests.

Topical Issue Debate: Illicit Trade in Tobacco (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: There is a real problem with tobacco. Much of it arises from the fact that ordinary decent citizens are buying illicit cigarettes and illicit tobacco, mainly for price reasons. As we continue to use price to discourage people from smoking, I think we will divert more and more of the trade to the illicit trade. It sounds like a cliché to say that if people stopped buying illicit...

Topical Issue Debate: Illicit Trade in Tobacco (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners, who have responsibility for the collection of tobacco products tax and for tackling illicit trade in this area, that they are very aware of the threat that illegal tobacco products poses to the Exchequer and to the Government's health protection objective of discouraging smoking through high prices. Tackling this problem is a high priority for...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: I advise the Chairman that the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, will be here in the afternoon. I have a previous commitment in respect of financial work that I have to do in the afternoon but I will be back for the evening session.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: There is no potential gain to the State because the companies involved pay taxes in Ireland on profits that accrue here. What they were previously doing was using stateless companies incorporated in Ireland to channel profits made elsewhere through this country. These profits would then disappear into the stratosphere. As a result, they would have no tax liability anywhere. There will be...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: Yes. It is not possible to predict how individual companies will react to the measure. It is anticipated that there will be no substantial change to the real activities these companies undertake in Ireland.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: I refer, for example, to companies which operate in Deputy Michael McGrath's constituency. We have received assurances that there will be no pull-back. If anything, there will be further investment.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: It was not that we were facilitating this. However, certain companies found a loophole in the borderland between the tax codes of different countries. They were able to put in place arrangements whereby if profits were passed through a company in Ireland, there was no tax liability anywhere in respect of them. It will depend on what the companies involved decide to do. They may be obliged...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: There is no doubt at all that this is the intention of the OCED. It is also the intention of the participants in the G20. The bottom line will be to remove some of the more obvious tax breaks from the system.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: That is beyond the boundaries of what is contained in the Bill. It is, however, an issue and forms part of what the OECD is reviewing. That organisation has been charged with drilling down into this matter. What I am about to say may be of assistance to the Deputy. In today's economy much of the value of products can be attributed to the intellectual property of the company producing the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: My officials engaged with them.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: The first point to make is that the measures we are discussing will come into effect for new companies from the date of publication of the Finance Bill. In other words, these provisions already apply to new companies. For existing companies, the effective date of implementation is 1 January 2015. The reason for this is that, historically, any change to the corporation tax regime in this...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: Yes, that is correct. Over time.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: It is not purely a tax issue.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Finance: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2013)

Michael Noonan: A core tier 1 capital issue, as I have explained, is also very relevant to this decision and underpins it.