Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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129. To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 115 of 23 June 2015, if he will make provision for the recovery of the 2.53% stamp duty pension levy to members of the Irish airlines (general employees) superannuation scheme through the taxation system (details supplied). [27194/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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It is not clear from the details supplied with the question what, in fact, the Deputy has in mind in her proposal for recovery of the pension levy to members of the pension scheme in question through the taxation system. It seems from the details provided that the Deputy is of the view that a reduction applied to a pension in payment from a pension scheme, on foot of a decision by the trustees of the scheme to pass on the impact of the pension fund levy, is ignored in determining the pensioner s taxable pension income.

My understanding is that any reduction to the pension in payment of an individual, in these circumstances, is applied to the gross pension before tax or USC so that, in effect, it is only the amount of the gross pension after the application of any reduction, on foot of the passing on of the levy, that would be liable for tax. It is not clear, therefore, how the proposed tax exemption proposed by the Deputy would work in those circumstances.

In my response to the Deputy's question of 23 June last on this general issue, I gave a very detailed and reasoned outline of my position in this matter. For the reasons set out in that reply I have no plans to repay the pension fund levy or other levies. I also made the point that taxpayers to whom the impact of the levy may have been passed on by the chargeable persons responsible for the payment of the levy (the pension scheme trustees etc) will benefit from the changes which I began in Budget 2015 and which will continue in future Budgets to reduce the tax burden on those on low and middle incomes.