Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

91. To ask the Minister for Finance the total cost of all reliefs that can be claimed in respect of Capital Gains Tax and if he will provide a tabular breakdown of the value of each relief by category for 2013 and the expected cost for 2014 if there were no changes to the rates and criteria for chargeable assets or eligibility for reliefs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33868/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the main reliefs/exemptions that can be claimed in respect of Capital Gains Tax are as follows:

Appropriation to and from stock in trade (section 596 TCA 1997)

Rollover relief (section 597 TCA 1997) [now only available in limited circumstances]

Retirement relief (sections 598/599 TCA 1997)

Relief on dissolution of farming partnerships (section 598A TCA 1997)

Transfer of business to a company (section 600 TCA 1997)

Replacement of qualifying premises (section 600A TCA 1997)

Personal exemption (section 601 TCA 1997)

Chattel exemption (section 602 TCA 1997)

Wasting chattels (section 603 TCA 1997)

Transfer of site from parent to child (section 603A TCA 1997)

Principal private residence relief (section 604 TCA 1997)

Relief for certain disposals of land and buildings (section 604A TCA 1997)

Disposals to authority possessing compulsory powers (section 605 TCA 1997)

The reliefs for which claims made can currently be identified in tax returns are those that are entered to the Form 11 personal income tax returns filed by non-PAYE taxpayers for 2011, the latest year for which this information is available. These are Disposal of Principal Private Residence, Retirement relief - within the Family, Retirement Relief - outside the Family, Disposal of a site to a child and Other Reliefs (to be specified). Claimants for the Personal Exemption are also identified.

In the case of the Personal Exemption it is tentatively estimated that the Exchequer cost in terms of tax forgone in respect of claimants who filed a Form 11 tax return for 2011 was in the region of €4 million. Claims for the other identified reliefs require the entry to the tax return of the consideration value and not the actual capital gain. There is therefore no basis on which a nominal gain could be identified and on which an estimate of Exchequer cost of the tax relief could be calculated.

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).