Results 13,721-13,740 of 33,280 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Finance Bill 2019: Second Stage (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Two weeks ago, I made my Budget Statement and outlined the many challenges that our economy had gone through. Despite those challenges and issues, we have economic growth that is broadly based, public capital investment will increase by 22% and the unemployment rate has fallen to 5.3%. Tax revenues are largely in line with forecasts and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I would have hoped the Deputy would recognise the measures I introduced in the budget to support small and medium-sized companies. Those measures have been recognised by many of the firms' representatives as delivering the change for which they were looking.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: On Deputy Howlin's point about food supplements, the only problem with his analysis is that the Revenue Commissioners do not agree with it.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Revenue Commissioners have indicated that in the absence of any change, they will adjust the VAT rate to 23% on 1 November. This time last year Deputy Howlin and others were calling on me to prevent that from happening. I have now made it clear that those products that are regulated by the agencies of the Department of Health will retain the 0% rate. The VAT rate of products without...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Pension Provisions (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Standard Fund Threshold (SFT) is the maximum allowable pension fund on retirement for tax purposes which was introduced in Budget and Finance Act 2006 to prevent over-funding of pensions through tax-relieved arrangements. The threshold was initially set at €5 million, which was subsequently reduced to €2.3 million in 2010 and further reduced in Budget 2014 and Finance (No 2)...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I can assure the Deputy that insurance reform remains a priority for the Government.  The Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG), which was established in July 2016, has produced two reports, and is continuing to work to implement the recommendations of the Cost of Motor Insurance Report and the Cost of Employer and Public Liability Insurance Report.  The most recent Update Report,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Application (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that tax relief for employees may be granted for contributions to an “exempt approved” occupational pension scheme under section 774 Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA); contributions to a statutory scheme under section 776 TCA; contributions to a retirement annuity under section 784 TCA; contributions to a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) under...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Foreign Earnings Deduction (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Foreign Earnings Deduction applies to taxpayers who work abroad during a tax year and one of the conditions of receiving the deduction is that the taxpayer must work in a relevant state, of which there are 30 eligible states. All of these 30 relevant states are non-EEA states.  In 2017, the most recent year for which data are available, the incentive cost €3.9 million and...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The OECD is currently undertaking a significant project to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy.  The work is being divided across two Pillars – Pillar One and Pillar Two.  The work under ‘Pillar One’ focuses on the distribution of taxing rights in respect of highly digitalised activities and seeks to undertake a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Costs (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: It is assumed that the Deputy is referring to Life Assurance Exit Tax (LAET). Based on a pre-Budget base the estimated cost of reducing LAET from 41% to 33% is €39m. Costs and yields for changes to LAET are published on page 13 of the Ready Reckoner on Revenue’s website at link: . The Ready Reckoner will be updated to a Post Budget 2020 basis shortly and will be available at...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners Investigations (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that its clear preference is to engage with taxpayers experiencing tax payment difficulties and to agree mutually acceptable solutions, rather than deploying debt collection/enforcement sanctions. Where there is no engagement, or where there is a lack of commitment to achieving a mutually acceptable arrangement, then Revenue is left with no option but to use its...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: General Government Debt (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The exchequer balance is the domestic budgetary aggregate which measures the net surplus or deficit position (the difference between cash inflows and outflows) of central government’s main treasury account, the Central fund. The general government balance (GGB) is an EU national accounting aggregate which measures the net surplus or deficit position of all arms of Government, i.e....

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Data (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The authorities responsible for the administration of the large number of pension schemes operating in the various sectors of the Irish public service are, in general, the relevant employers and Ministers in those sectors. It would be a matter for those sectorial authorities, including relevant Ministers, to supply such information as may be available in respect of the number of retirees in...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Estimates Publication (23 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Section 1.1.5, on pages 47 to 49 of Expenditure Report 2020, sets out detail in relation to potential Supplementary Estimates for this year based on the information available at that point in time. This section of the Expenditure Report provides a reconciliation between the net voted expenditure amounts in the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2019 and the White Paper -...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Retail Sector (22 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 142 and 159 together. The provision concerning the restrictions and conditions that may be applied to the Retail Export Scheme in the event of a no-deal Brexit was included in the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2019, which became law on March 17 of this year.  At that time, I made clear my...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (22 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: As Minister for Finance, I am responsible for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation.  Neither I nor the Central Bank of Ireland can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, as these matters are of a commercial nature, and are determined by insurance companies based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept.  This...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Help-To-Buy Scheme (22 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: The Help to Buy (HTB) incentive is a scheme to assist first-time purchasers with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. The incentive gives a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in the State over the previous four years, subject to limits outlined in the legislation.    Section 477C of the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Costs (22 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am aware of the issues facing many small businesses when it comes to the affordability and availability of insurance. Neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, as these matters are of a commercial nature, and are determined by insurance companies based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept.  This...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (22 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: I am satisfied that, in the context of limited resources, the tax code already recognises those who have contributed to the State for a long period through measures that reduce the amount of tax that such persons pay in retirement. For example, a person aged 65 and over is fully exempt from income tax where his or her total income from all sources is less than the relevant exemption...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (22 Oct 2019)

Paschal Donohoe: Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) is the overall title for both gift and inheritance tax. The tax is charged on the amount gifted to, or inherited by, the beneficiary of the gift or inheritance. CAT at a rate of 33% applies on the excess over the tax free threshold. There are, in all, three separate Group thresholds based on the relationship of the beneficiary to the disponer. Group Athreshold...