Written answers

Tuesday, 20 March 2007

11:00 pm

Photo of Seymour CrawfordSeymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Finance if he has examined the trends in the past three months in respect of stamp duty; and if he will indicate the movement in the volume of sales and of prices. [10199/07]

Photo of Brian CowenBrian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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My department examines trends across all major tax heads, including stamp duty, on an ongoing basis. At end February 2007 stamp duties for the year to date were up 22% year on year. They are currently running at 16% ahead of the same time last year (16 March).

It is very difficult to draw conclusions from tax receipts over a period as short as 3 months and to determine if the figures represent a trend that is set to continue. However, evidence for the property market suggests that Stamp Duty receipts, although still strong, will not continue to grow at the rate of recent years. This moderation has been expected for some time. I have pointed out on several occasions in the past we have taken care not to plan the public finances around an assumption that receipts from stamps and Capital Gains Tax will continue to grow in future years as they have in the recent past.

I assume that the second part of the Deputy's question refers to residential property. In this regard, anecdotal evidence suggests that the volume of house sales has eased. Hard data is not yet available but the standard leading indicators (planning permissions etc) suggest an easing in the market. In terms of price developments, the latest data show that the rate of house price inflation has slowed since the middle of last year. Moreover, these data show that on a month-on-month basis, prices have been more or less flat since October.

Photo of Willie PenroseWillie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 101: To ask the Minister for Finance the amount of RCT collected in relation to RCT in respect of each of the years, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006; the amount which remains unallocated to the taxpayer who suffered the deduction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10226/07]

Photo of Brian CowenBrian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the amount of Relevant Contracts Tax [RCT] received in respect of each of the years 2003 to 2006 inclusive is as follows:

RCTGrossRepaymentsNett
€m€m€m
2003476.8423.753.2
2004611.6562.349.3
2005759.5660.990.6
2006949.8856.193.8

The Nett figure above is the amount which was unallocated to named taxpayers.

A major programme of work to upgrade the computer systems for RCT to the standard that is available for other business taxes was undertaken in recent years by Revenue so that RCT is now fully integrated within the Revenue Integrated Taxation Systems. Every RCT case is now the subject of active compliance management in the same way as for any other business tax. In that regard, in conjunction with the enhancement of its computer systems Revenue also prioritised its compliance focus on the monthly return and payment required of those registered for RCT. Compliance rates improved very significantly in 2006 — most notably for the biggest cases, where the average rate increased by 7% in the year. Indeed current compliance for the biggest cases was 88% in December last compared with 61% at the start of last year. Across the full customer base, current compliance for RCT increased by 2% in 2006.

In relation to the annual return [RCT 35] filing compliance also increased in 2006. Return filing increased by almost 7% to 88% in 2006. The biggest improvement was for the largest cases where the improvement was 10%. Compliance activity by Revenue is and will continue to increase further in 2007 as Revenue continues it's focus on construction. This will include an earlier start to Revenue's compliance campaign for the RCT35.

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