Results 15,581-15,600 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Vehicle Registration Issues (19 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Scheme provides relief from VAT and VRT (up to a certain limit) on the purchase of a car adapted for the transport of a person with specific severe and permanent physical disabilities, to those who meet certain disability criteria. The disability criteria for eligibility for the tax concessions under this scheme are set out in the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Credits (19 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: The position is that where a couple is cohabiting, rather than married or in a civil partnership, they are treated as separate and unconnected individuals for the purposes of income tax. Each partner is a separate entity for tax purposes and, therefore, cohabiting couples cannot file joint assessment tax returns or share their tax credits and tax bands in the same manner as married couples....

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Availability (19 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I take it the question raised by the Deputy refers to the transfer of family farms from one generation to the next. Specific tax reliefs are provided where farms are passed on from one generation to the next. These reliefs include Capital Acquisitions Tax ("CAT") agricultural relief, Capital Gains Tax ("CGT") relief on transfer of farms to children and Stamp Duty Relief on family transfers...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Pension Provisions (19 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: The pension fund levy applies at a rate of 0.6% per annum to the market value, on the valuation date, of assets under management in pension funds and pension plans approved under Irish tax legislation. The levy will operate for a period of 4 years only (2011 to 2014) and the legislative provisions giving effect to the levy (section 4 of Finance (No 2) Act 2011) were specifically drafted to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Revenue Commissioners Investigations (19 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: The investigation of any registered charity is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners. In addition, I am advised by Revenue that, for reasons of taxpayer confidentiality, it cannot comment on the tax affairs of individual bodies. However, Revenue has assured me that bodies that are granted charitable tax exemption under Section 207 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 are subject to reviews...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: IBRC Bond Issue (19 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am advised that the process of issuing new bonds is normally through underwriting, where one or more securities firms or banks form a syndicate buying the entire bond issue from the issuer and then re-selling to investors. Primary issuance is arranged by these syndicates who contact potential investors and advise the bond issuer in terms of timing, tenor and pricing of the bond issue. The...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (19 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I take it the question raised by the Deputy refers to consolidation measures in relation to farm land. I made provision in Budget 2013 for the following measure designed to assist farmers with consolidation of farm land. This measure followed on from measures in the previous year’s Budget which also supported farm expansion and the transfer of land. Section 48 of Finance Act 2013...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Funding (19 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: My Department has a statistics unit led by a statistician on secondment from the CSO. This unit is responsible for providing an input into all general government statistical matters within the Department. The CSO is Ireland’s national statistical office and meets the needs of government for the provision of quality statistical information. Although existing as an independent body the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fuel Laundering (19 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners who have responsibility for the collection of mineral oil tax that they are very mindful of the threat that fuel laundering poses both to the exchequer and to legitimate businesses. Revenue has made action against fuel laundering one of its priorities and is implementing a comprehensive strategy to tackle the problem. This strategy included...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs Availability (19 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: The position is, as I have stated on many occasions in the House, that this issue was raised during the debates in the Seanad on the Finance Bill 2013, during which I agreed to re-examine the matter during the course of this year. My Department is currently in the process of examining the issue and when the analysis is completed and the findings are presented to me, I will make any...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Personal Insolvency Practitioners (18 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP) will be involved in the Debt Settlement Arrangements and Personal Insolvency Arrangements as provided for in the Personal Insolvency Act 2012. Any fees charged by a PIP in connection with these services are liable to VAT at the standard rate, currently 23%. A PIP in this regard is acting in a...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Taxation Collection (18 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: Section 119 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, as amended, sets out the dates for payment of the Local Property Tax (LPT) and clarifies that while the LPT is due by reference to a liability date it is not payable until a later date. For 2013, the liability date is 1 May 2013 while the payment due date is 1 July 2013, and for 2014, the liability date is 1 November 2013 and the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Avoidance Issues (18 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 to 85, inclusive, together. As the Deputy is aware Ireland, as President of the Council of the European Union, has prioritised work in the area of tax fraud, evasion, and aggressive tax planning. To that end Ireland brokered agreement on Ecofin council conclusions on the European Commission's Action Plan on Tax Fraud and Evasion, which contained a series...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: International Summits (18 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I did not attend the Bilderberg meeting.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Universal Social Charge Yield (18 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: The data requested by the Deputy is listed in the table below. It is important to take into account that the figures displayed for 2011 and 2012 in the table below are based on end-year outturns and are on a Revenue Net Receipt basis. These can differ slightly from Exchequer Receipts for reasons of accounting and timing. The estimate for 2013 USC receipts are consistent with the forecasts...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Public Relations Contracts Expenditure (18 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I take it that the Deputy is referring solely to public relations costs and not to advertising costs that would be incurred by my Department in the normal course of business, such as entries into telephone directories, the placing of advertisements in national newspapers, recruitment advertising, etc. In the period in question no such costs were incurred by my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Universal Social Charge Application (18 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: The position is that the Universal Social Charge (USC) was introduced from 1 January 2011 to replace the Income Levy and the Health Levy. It was a necessary measure to widen the tax base, remove poverty traps and raise revenue to reduce the budget deficit. The USC is an annual tax payable on an individual's total income in a year, subject to a number of exemptions and reliefs. In...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector Issues (18 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: The timing of Ireland's next stress test is under discussion and no decision has been taken in this regard. The original timeline under the Troika programme, which was linked to the EU wide EBA stress test timeline, is being adapted in light of the evolving calendar for the next EU-wide bank diagnostic exercises in the lead-up to the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). The intention is to...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (18 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: It is a general principle of taxation that, as far as possible, income from all sources should be subject to taxation. In line with this principle, the majority of social welfare payments are reckonable as income for tax purposes. These include long-term payments such as Disablement Benefit, the State Pension, Widows, Invalidity and Blind Pensions, Carers Allowance and the One Parent Family...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Customs and Excise Staff (18 Jun 2013)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 93 together. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that their office is an integrated tax and customs administration and it is not feasible to disaggregate the staffing resources deployed exclusively on Customs and Excise or drugs enforcement work. The Revenue Commissioners have around 2,000 staff engaged on activities that are dedicated to...