Niall Collins (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 251: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of persons in tabular form analysed by county registered as tax exiles for the year 2006, 2007 and 2008; the amount of tax paid by these persons in each year to the Revenue here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1023/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners there is no register or list of so called 'tax exiles' and there is nothing in Irish tax law that makes reference to 'tax exile' status.

The taxation of individuals in the State is in line with that prevailing in most other OECD jurisdictions, that is to say (a) individuals who are resident in the State for tax purposes (based on the number of days presence in the State) are taxable here on their worldwide income; and (b) individuals who are not resident here for tax purposes pay tax here only on income arising in the State and on income derived from working here.

I am informed by Revenue that for the 2007 tax year (the latest year for which figures are available), 7,228 non-resident individuals filed Irish tax returns in respect of their Irish-source income or income derived from working here. The total amount of tax paid by these persons was €43m. For the 2006 tax year, 5,993 non-resident individuals filed Irish tax returns in respect of their Irish-source income or income derived from working here. The total amount of tax paid by these persons was €44.5m.

The equivalent figures for 2008 are not yet available. Returns for 2008 were due by 31 October 2009 or, in the case of returns made on ROS (Revenue Online System), by 16th November 2009. The data capture of information of these returns is currently under way and when completed will facilitate the compilation of statistics for 2008.

Many of the individuals that show on their tax return that they are non-resident in the State do not have an Irish address. It is not therefore possible to provide an analysis of the total number of persons claiming to be non-resident for tax purposes on a county basis.

It should be noted that many of these non-residents are foreign nationals or have a foreign domicile; and many of the non-resident Irish citizens or Irish domiciliaries included in this figure may have become non-resident for reasons unrelated to taxation, but who may have retained Irish investments (such as rental property). These individuals could not be categorised as 'tax exiles' under any reasonable definition of that term.