Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

70. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has had any discussions with the Department of Justice and Equality regarding the ability of sporting bodies to register as charitable bodies and the potential for this to enhance philanthropy towards sporting bodies. [40897/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This question relates to charitable status for sporting organisations. In order to sustain the development of sport it is important that sporting organisations can secure alternative sources of investment, including philanthropic donations. I believe that there is potential for philanthropy and charitable giving for areas of sport such as programme development and high performance and that charitable status for sporting organisations would be very helpful in this regard. Sport contributes significantly to our society and benefits the community in a variety of ways and in my view sporting organisations should be eligible to apply for approval as charities. The introduction of this measure would also give recognition to the contribution that sport makes to Irish society in terms of the advancement of public health, the economy, tourism, enhancing community welfare and Ireland’s reputation abroad.

One of the benefits of charitable status is the opportunity provided by the tax relief schemes available for charities. While there is an existing scheme for donations to sporting organisations, under Section 847A of the Taxes Consolidation Act, it is restrictive in that it applies only to donations for capital purposes. There is currently no tax relief available for donations for purposes such as programmes aimed at increasing participation and improving performance in sport. In many other countries, including the United Kingdom, such donations qualify for tax relief and have been shown to encourage people to sponsor particular athletes or programmes supporting participation and high performance.  As taxation issues are a matter for the Minister for Finance, I have asked him to consider the matter of charitable status for the National Governing Bodies of sport in the upcoming Budget.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

71. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has discussed with the Department of Finance the tax relief for donations to sporting bodies contained in section 41 of the 2002 Finance Bill; his views on the scheme; and if it has succeeded in its objectives of maximising donations to sporting bodies and generally contributing to the funding of sport. [40893/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The question is about tax relief for donations to sporting bodies.  Section 41 of the Finance Act, 2002 inserts Section 847A into the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 to provide a scheme of tax relief for relevant donations to approved sports bodies for the funding of approved projects.  The Revenue Commissioners administer this scheme.  Under the scheme, if the Revenue Commissioners certify an organisation as an "approved sports body", that body may then apply to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to have a project approved.  If the Department is satisfied that the said project comes with the parameters of the scheme, and if the body provides the required documentation, the approved body is granted a certificate by the Department stating that the project is an approved project for the purposes of the tax relief. The nature of the tax relief for donations will depend on whether the taxpayer is a PAYE taxpayer, an individual on self-assessment, or a company.

It has not been necessary to have any discussion with the Minister for Finance regarding the scheme.  I can confirm that the Scheme is well received by sports clubs.  To date in 2013, the Department has approved 17 projects.  Since 2010, 81 separate projects have been approved. For further information on the scheme, interested organisations should contact the Revenue Commissioners in Nenagh.