Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 57: To ask the Minister for Finance the number and location in County Kildare of the various urban renewal, Section 23, or other incentives approved by him since the inception of the respective schemes; the extent to which all such schemes were completed in accordance with the proposals; the degree to which all moneys were drawn down; the number and location of any such schemes incomplete for whatever reason; the extent of any remaining works to be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24803/10]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 58: To ask the Minister for Finance the number and location in the country of the various urban renewal, Section 23, or other incentives approved by him since the inception of the respective schemes; the extent to which all such schemes were completed in accordance with the proposals; the degree to which all moneys were drawn down; the number and location of any such schemes incomplete for whatever reason; and the extent of any remaining works to be completed. [24805/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 57 and 58 together.

I have provided information in an appendix on the areas that were designated for tax relief under the various area-based tax incentive schemes and where projects may have been developed, viz.:

· Islands

· Seaside Resorts

· Integrated Area Urban Renewal

· Town Renewal

· Rural Renewal

· Living over the Shop

The sectoral schemes, such as those for childcare facilities and nursing homes, were not restricted to designated areas and could have been developed in any part of the country. I am not in a position to provide information on the number of projects that were developed and the precise location of such projects. Many of the projects developed under the various area-based and sectoral property incentive schemes did not require approval or certification. To facilitate more efficient administration, the incentive schemes operated to a certain extent on a self-assessment basis, subject, of course, to compliance with the planning requirements of local authorities. The conditions that had to be met by a project or by a person claiming tax relief are set out in the Tax Acts and also, in some cases, in detailed guidelines. For example, student accommodation projects must meet the conditions set out in guidelines published by the Department of Education and Science. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that when all of the conditions for a particular incentive scheme have been met, claims for tax relief are made in the annual return of income submitted by taxpayers under the self-assessment system. All returns are subject to check and audit to ensure that, inter alia, any tax relief is correctly claimed. Taxpayers claiming tax relief are required to indicate the particular incentive scheme under which the relief is being claimed but not the actual project and where it is located. For these reasons, the information requested by the Deputy is not available.

Similarly, I am not in a position to provide the information requested by the Deputy on the extent to which schemes have been completed in accordance with the proposals and the number and location of incomplete schemes. I would point out that the termination date for most of the schemes has already passed and future termination dates are in place for other schemes. These termination dates are the dates by which the construction or refurbishment work on a building has to be carried out if the expenditure that is attributable to that work is to qualify for tax relief.

The Deputy will see from the table below that many of the schemes have a termination date of 31 July 2008. As part of the phasing out of these schemes there was a gradual reduction in the amount of expenditure that can qualify for tax relief. All of the expenditure in 2006 will qualify for relief but only 75% of the expenditure incurred during 2007 will qualify. This goes down to 50% for expenditure incurred during 2008. Where a building is not completed by 31 July 2008 the expenditure attributable to any construction or refurbishment work that takes place after this date cannot qualify for tax relief. Thus, while certain buildings in schemes with a termination date of 31 July 2008 are currently incomplete, the amount of potential tax relief that will apply on completion will not increase beyond that which applied at 31 July 2008. A similar situation applies with all of the termination dates.

Information on the potential overall cost of the property-based incentive schemes is not available. Therefore, I am not in a position to tell the Deputy the degree to which all monies have been drawn down. I can, however, provide the Deputy with information collected by the Revenue Commissioners in respect of tax relief claimed by taxpayers in respect of the various schemes. I would point out that this information is collected at the aggregate level for a particular scheme and not in respect of individual projects and locations. The table below sets out the position for the years 2007 and 2008.

Notes to Table 3

1) The information available on the cost to the Exchequer is based on personal income tax returns filed by non-PAYE taxpayers (Form 11) and corporation tax returns filed by companies for the years 2007 and 2008, the latest year for which this information is available. Data for 2009 cannot be provided as the tax returns for this year are yet due.

It should be noted that any corresponding data returned by PAYE taxpayers in the income tax return (Form 12) is not captured in the Revenue computer system. However, any PAYE taxpayer with non-PAYE income greater than €3,174 is required to complete an income tax return (Form 11). 2) The estimated relief claimed has assumed tax forgone at the 41% rate for 2007 and 2008 in the case of individuals and 12.5% in the case of companies for both years. The figures shown correspond to the maximum Exchequer cost in terms of income tax and corporation tax. 3) The figures for 2008 are subject to adjustment in the event of late returns being filed or where returns already filed are subsequently amended.

Appendix 1

DESIGNATED ISLANDS

SEASIDE RESORT SCHEME – DESIGNATED RESORTS

INTEGRATED AREA URBAN RENEWAL SCHEME

AREAS DESIGNATED

Rural Renewal Scheme – Qualifying Areas

TOWN RENEWAL SCHEME – DESIGNATED TOWNS

Living Over the Shop Scheme