Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Finance the reasons a company (details supplied) in County Kildare must supply audited accounts to the Revenue Commissioners in view of the fact that the company has charitable status and are a community based group whose constitution status is that it is a non- profit making organisation and the workings of the company is solely to do with improvement of facilities in the area for their local community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38281/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Revenue Commissioners advise me that they have not sought audited accounts from this charity. I am further advised that the Revenue Commissioners have detailed procedures in place towards ensuring that bodies which have been granted charitable tax exemption are complying with the terms of their exemption and applying their funds for charitable purposes only. Under these procedures, all tax exempt charities are required to maintain proper books of accounts and audited accounts are required where the income of the charity exceeds €100,000 per annum.

Full details relating to the application and monitoring procedures for charities are set out in information booklet CHY1, Applying for Relief from Tax on the Income and Property of Charities, which can be found on the Revenue website at www.revenue.ie.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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This matter was given detailed consideration in the context of the 2005 Finance Bill and for the following reasons it was decided that there was no case for the introduction of tax relief for the purchase costs of suckler cow quota.

(a) Under the new Single Payment Scheme farmers have been credited with the average number of animals on which premium was paid under the Suckler Cow Premium Scheme over the three reference years 2000, 2001 and 2002.

(b) Farmers who purchased suckler cow quota since 1993 and up to and including the 2000 scheme years have received the full benefit of this quota in their Single Farm payment if they used their quota during the three reference years. There are also adequate provisions under the National Reserve to cater for farmers who purchased quota from January 2001 up until the date of the announcement of full decoupling on 19 October 2003.

(c) Farmers who purchased suckler cow quota after 19 October 2003 for the 2004 scheme year should have been aware of the changes to the CAP and the introduction of the Single Payment and the consequent abolition of quota.