Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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208. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of persons who have registered for the start your own business scheme since its establishment. [9390/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, I announced the Start Your Own Business initiative, which provides an exemption from Income Tax for individuals who have been unemployed for a period of 12 months and who start a new, un-incorporated business between 25 October 2013 and 31 December 2016.

An exemption from Income Tax will be provided on profits up to a maximum of €40,000 per annum for the first two years of trading. However, USC and PRSI will continue to be payable. If a loss is incurred then loss relief will be available in the normal manner.

The business must be un-incorporated i.e., it must not be registered as a company. In order to claim this relief, the individual must file a tax return notwithstanding that there may be no liability to tax. This initiative is an employment activation measure that provides a much-needed incentive for people to start their own business and to reduce their dependence on welfare payments. There is no requirement for an individual to register in order to claim the relief. Instead, the individual will claim the relief by completing the relevant boxes in his or her annual income tax return. Therefore, until the individuals who avail of this relief file their tax returns for the 2014 tax year next year, it will not be possible to know how many individuals are availing of this relief. Full details of the initiative can be found on the Revenue website at: .