Results 1,701-1,720 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: In accordance with section 1003 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, tax relief is available to certain taxpayers who donate heritage items to Irish national collections. The purpose of the scheme is to assist approved bodies to acquire important heritage items for their collections, items that might otherwise be exported from the State, constituting a diminution of Ireland's accumulated...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: Yes, it was maxed out last year. This is an ask that has come to us through the cultural institutions and the line Department. The current ceiling has been eroded over time through inflation and it has become a constraint on the State receiving donations of many of these items.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: Yes, it is my understanding that the Revenue Commissioners publish the list of items each year.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: Yes.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputies for their contributions. This section amends Part 22A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. Part 22A was introduced in the Finance Act 2021 and provides for an annual residential zoned land tax, RZLT, calculated at 3% of the market value of land within its scope. Broadly, this is land that is zoned as being suitable for residential use, or for a mixture of residential...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: Yes.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: By the end of May.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: Yes.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: My understanding is that a change of zoning is a function of the members.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: Yes.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: There is not necessarily an obligation to zone other land.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: There is not necessarily an obligation; it would depend on the area development plan. That will be guided by the national planning framework and the identification of what is the appropriate amount of land needed to meet population targets where we want population growth to take place over the years ahead.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: That would be a matter for local authorities. They may decide, if they are approving a de-zoning, to accompany that with rezoning of other land. They will have to consider what their obligations are under their development plans and in line with the spatial strategy and the national planning framework. It will not necessarily be the case that in all instances where they accept a de-zoning...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: One of the issues that has arisen is the need for consistency around the treatment of what you might call statutory phasing or tier 2 land. This is land that is not earmarked for immediate development but that is zoned. That is one of the issues that has arisen over the past year.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: We are providing for that in the Bill. I agree with the Deputy.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: That is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. The Department and the committee Deputy Matthews chairs will be active on this issue, but the Minister will be setting out the details of that in his correspondence.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: In recent months, a number of issues have arisen that have convinced me, and the Government more generally, of the need to defer the liability date. We are doing so while at the same maintaining the policy intent. The policy intent and the legislative framework remains in place. However, a number of issues have arisen, including the need for farmers and other landowners to have another...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2023)

Michael McGrath: Some of the feedback we received over the course of the year has been that some landowners did not know about this, did not know about the tax or did not engage in the process and seek a change in the zoning of their land, and made the case for another opportunity to be provided. Therefore, that is one of the motivations here. We are providing a further opportunity for people to engage in...