Results 17,461-17,480 of 35,756 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Okay. Can the Minister retrospectively apply this?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: No.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Can I put a proposal, if I may? Given that the Deputy has asked me a technical question, I want to give him an accurate answer. I propose, if I may, that we go into private session, which I understand is the norm, in order to fully answer the Deputy's question. Given the importance of this matter, I want to be certain that I give him the right information.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I was asking a leading question about subsection (1)(a). The point is that section 21 of the Act has two subsections. Subsection (1)(a) has been explained as an insignificant tidying-up exercise but it will nonetheless be applied from 8 May 2009. The principle of retrospection, therefore, is included here. The Minister's decision not to apply the capital expenditure for the intellectual...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I wish to advise that I will be bringing forward an amendment to section 21 again.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Go raibh maith agat. My amendment is different, but it captures some of what Deputy Boyd Barrett said. It focuses specifically on the research and development, R&D, tax credit. I believe there is a value to the R&D tax credit. I am not arguing for it to be abolished but I am concerned about the way it is set. I am concerned about the fact that it is out of control and that the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: That is a disappointing response. I think the Minister is ignoring some of the points made in the report. The report states that it is pertinent to ensure that this does not increase. After the publication of the report we find out that it has already increased by another €150 million. The Minister is also ignoring the recommendations in the report about multiple claims and the...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: We must deal with amendment No. 43 before that.

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Savings Schemes Administration (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 87. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason some State savings that matured in October 2017 were delayed; if the NTMA suffered an information technology issue which caused a delay; the extent of this information technology problem; the sections of the NTMA operations that were affected; the guarantees being put in place to ensure a similar situation does not arise again; and if he will...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tracker Mortgage Examination (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 90. To ask the Minister for Finance if the staff members of a bank (details supplied) that had their tracker mortgage removed will be covered by the Central Bank's examination process and by the bank's redress and compensation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47184/17]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Exchequer Returns (8 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: 102. To ask the Minister for Finance the appropriate annual percentage multiplier for increases in general government tax revenue relative to GDP, GNP and GNI growth, for example, the amount each point of growth would be expected to be reflected in tax revenue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47313/17]

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: Can we get some clarity on the Minister's thinking on this. Can he explain to the committee what a middle income earner is? What is the range? What salary does a middle income earner earn?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: There is €40,000 between €30,000 and €70,000. The vast majority of people in the State earn below that. That is a big range.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: If Denis O'Brien goes and buys a yacht, a jet and a couple of palaces, does he then become a middle income earner because he has a net disposable income of €40,000 or €50,000 because he has a certain amount of outgoings? Surely middle income is a point. We know, for example, that the average industrial wage is a certain figure; it is between €36,000 and €37,000....

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I understand that but I am not talking about these pressures but about statistics and how the Government defines a low, middle and high income earner which is important in the debate. Accordingly, when we decide to cut taxes for middle-income earners, are we actually cutting taxes for high income earners which the Government decided to brand as middle-income earners? I am trying to...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister defines somebody on €70,000 as a middle-income earner. What proportion of the overall 2.6 million taxpayer units is made up of those earning over €70,000? I imagine 80% of taxpayer units would be below that figure.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: We had two crashes. We had a crash with the banks, primarily because of commercial property, and then we had a fiscal crash because our tax income and expenditure did not match. I served on the banking inquiry and we saw that, in the Charlie McCreevy era, personal taxation was cut quite substantially and spending increased. Obviously, stamp duty made up the shortfall. I am concerned...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: I do not give a damn about the 2:1. That is an arrangement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil which is not based on any empirical evidence or international comparisons. It is based on how the Minister believes the budget should work. I am concerned about the sustainability of the State's finances. When one measures this State against the OECD, in 2106 we ranked at the 29th lowest tax...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: We can use different statistics to suit our arguments. The Minister is obviously using the marginal tax rate whereas in reality the effective tax rate is the best measure to compare internationally. We can have a high marginal tax rate but there could also be tax credits not available in other jurisdictions. The Government has consistently argued that the marginal tax rate is a drag on...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2017: Committee Stage (7 Nov 2017)

Pearse Doherty: The OECD comparison relates to the tax wage which is the big issue in terms of employment and how much it costs an individual to employ somebody, to provide them with a decent wage, PRSI and so forth. What evidence does the Minister have, bar somebody telling him that it would be better for their company if the marginal tax rate was reduced? It would boost their profits if they were able to...