Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 113: To ask the Minister for Finance if all State organisations have handed over moneys accrued from the pension levy and universal social charges to his Department. [37204/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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A stamp duty levy of 0.6% applies to the market value, on the valuation date, of assets under management in pension funds and pension plans approved under Irish tax legislation. The pension arrangements affected include funded retirement benefit schemes (i.e. occupational pension schemes), retirement annuity contracts and personal retirement savings accounts (PRSAs – other than what are known as "vested" PRSAs). The chargeable persons for the levy are the trustees or other persons (including insurance companies) responsible for the management of the assets of the pension schemes or plans and payment of the levy is due by 25 September in each of the four years from 2011-2014. State organisations, per se, are not responsible for payment of pension fund levy. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that receipts from the temporary 0.6% stamp duty levy on pension fund assets introduced in the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2011 amounted to €463 million by the end of October. This compares to a projected annual yield from the levy of €470 million.

I am also advised by the Commissioners that they are aware of a small number of pension schemes in respect of which the levy remained outstanding at end-October. The amounts involved are, however, unlikely to make any significant difference to the latest yield figure mentioned above.

I am further advised by the Revenue Commissioners that appropriate compliance measures are in place to ensure that all employers, including State organisations, meet their obligations for deduction and timely payment over to the Collector-General of the universal social charge. For reasons of taxpayer confidentiality, Revenue does not disclose information on individual taxpayers or employers. However, if the Deputy has specific information to indicate a particular incidence of non-compliance he should pass that information to Revenue.