Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 171: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of artists availing of the artists' tax exemption for each of the past ten years; the number of people and amount they claimed in tax exemption for 2008 in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3753/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the available information relates to the exemption of certain earnings of writers, composers and artists who made income tax returns for the eight income tax years 1998-99 to 2005, the latest year for which the necessary detailed information is available, and is as follows:

A married couple who has elected or has been deemed to have elected for joint assessment is counted as one tax unit.

The cost to the Exchequer of the Artists' Exemption Scheme in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available, is estimated at €34.8 million.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 172: To ask the Minister for Finance if changes are planned to the artists' tax exemption scheme for 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3754/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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All tax reliefs currently in operation, including the Artists' Exemption Scheme, are being reviewed by the Commission on Taxation. The Commission will make its report in September 2009.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 173: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will tackle the issue of tax exiles in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3755/09

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners, in relation to work carried out as part of its risk-based programme, that they have no reason to conclude that there is any failure to comply with the rules governing non-resident status. As part of their ongoing work, the Revenue Commissioners continue to include the examination of a cross-section of non-resident cases in their risk-based programmes.

However, the Deputy will be aware that I have recently made a change to the so-called "Cinderella" or "midnight rule". Up until 1 January 2009, an individual was regarded as present in the State for a day, for tax residence purposes, only if he or she was present in the State at midnight on that day. Section 15 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2008 amended the tax residence rules to provide that an individual will now be regarded as present in the State on a day if he or she is in the State at any time during the day, not just at midnight. This will apply for the 2009 tax year and subsequent tax years. I wish to also point out that the tax residency rules are reviewed on an ongoing basis.