Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if he is considering the introduction of a profit tax for tobacco companies as included in the Irish Cancer Society and Irish Heart Foundation’s pre-budget submission; if he has assessed what revenue could be generated if their proposal was included in Budget 2013 for 2013 and 2014; if he has assessed if an individual sector taxation or the introduction of a new rate of corporation tax into tax law would diminish confidence to foreign investors of Ireland’s commitment to the headline 12.5% Corporation tax rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53913/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I assume the Deputy to refer to the proposal to introduce a price cap of the pre-tax price of tobacco. Preliminary advice on this suggests that any proposal to interfere with the ability of manufacturers to set the maximum price level for tobacco is a breach of Council Directive 2011/64/EU on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco. In the circumstances, therefore, the question of individual sector taxation or the introduction of a new rate of Corporation Tax does not apply.