Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 42: To ask the Minister for Finance if the €200 levy will apply to an out of town but urban shopping complex as in the case of a complex (details supplied) in County Cork; if employees will be expected to pay a parking levy while customers park free; if the levy will apply to employees who work non-standard hours or who work when public transportation is unavailable or inconvenient; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2862/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The introduction of the car parking levy is designed to reduce congestion. The levy will apply to employer-provided parking facilities in the major urban centres of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. The specific areas in which the levy will apply will be designated by Order of the Minister for Finance following consultation with the five city councils concerned. An employee will be liable to the levy where: he or she has an entitlement to use a parking space for the parking of a vehicle covered by the levy, the parking space is provided directly or indirectly by the employer, and the parking space is located in an area designated by me as Minister for Finance.

The amount of the levy is reduced in the case of shift workers. Anyone starting or finishing work after 9 o'clock in the evening or before 7 o'clock in the morning will have the part of the year during which they are on shift work involving those hours disregarded for the purposes of calculating the levy. For example, someone doing such shift work for 3 months of the year would be liable to pay €150 (i.e. €200 less 1⁄4 excluded because of shift work).

I have already stated that, in deciding the parts of the cities in question that should be designated, I will have regard to the availability of public transport, the relative value of the car parking spaces and the level of congestion in the relevant parts of those cities. My approach reflects the reality of the problem which the levy seeks to address, while avoiding its imposition on a disproportionate basis on those who avail of car parking facilities in areas without excessive congestion problems.

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 44: To ask the Minister for Finance the taxation which applies to the owners and operators of car parks; the tax exemptions applicable; if changes in taxation are intended in relation to car parks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2861/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the Tax Acts apply different rules to the computation of taxable income depending on the source of the income. Where a person operates a car park he or she is treated as carrying on a trade and is taxed accordingly. Where the owner of a car park leases the car park to an operator the income received from the operator is treated as rental income and different rules apply to the taxation of such income. While the computation of the tax liability is broadly similar for both types of income, there are some differences. For example, where a trade is being carried on, the general position is that expenses of a revenue nature that are wholly and exclusively incurred for the purposes of the trade can be deducted in computing the taxable income. Tax relief is also available where expenditure is incurred on certain capital assets that qualify as plant and machinery and that are used for the purposes of a trade. In the case of rental income, expenses are deductible on a more restrictive basis.

Where a business generates losses instead of profits the losses are treated differently for both types of activity. In a rental situation where expenses exceed rents, the loss can only be used to reduce taxable rental income in years subsequent to that in which the loss arises whereas trading losses can be used to reduce other non-trading taxable income in the same year as that in which the loss arises, but can only be used to reduce taxable income from the same trade where it continues to be carried on in subsequent years.

In so far as value-added tax (VAT) is concerned, the position is that traders providing car-parking facilities are obliged to charge VAT at the standard rate of 21.5% in respect of the provision of such facilities. There are currently no specific tax exemptions or incentives available for the construction or operation of car parks. A scheme of tax relief for multi-storey car parks that applied on a countrywide basis came into operation from 1 July 1995. Tax relief was also available for car parks (not necessarily multi-storey) where they met the qualifying conditions for the urban, rural and town renewal schemes. Following a review of these schemes carried out by Indecon Economic Consultants in 2005, my predecessor announced the termination of the schemes in Budget 2006. The effect of the termination was that only expenditure that was incurred on the construction of car parks up to 31 July 2008 can qualify for tax relief.

Any proposals for changes in taxation in relation to car parks, like all proposals for new tax or expenditure measures, will fall to be considered in the context of the ongoing development of budgetary and economic policy.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 45: To ask the Minister for Finance the upper age level at which an incapacitated child tax credit is made available to a parent; if that is available to a parent, notwithstanding that the person concerned is in receipt of disability allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2897/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The position is that the incapacitated child tax credit can be claimed by a parent for a child who is permanently incapacitated either physically or mentally from maintaining himself or herself and had become so before reaching 21 years of age or finishing full-time education. Once a child qualifies for the incapacitated child tax credit the credit continues to be available in respect of that child without regard to the child's age. The incapacitated child tax credit can be claimed regardless of whether the parent or child is in receipt of disability allowance.