Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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83. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue that would be generated from reducing the entry level adjusted income threshold to €120,000, and the full restriction level to €180,000, with an effective tax rate of 38%. [29498/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I assume that the Deputy is referring to the restriction on the use of certain tax reliefs and exemptions by high income individuals. Data to provide a definitive estimate of the yield from the measures outlined by the Deputy is not readily available. However, based on personal income tax returns filed for the year 2013, the latest year for which data is available, it is tentatively estimated that reducing the entry level adjusted income threshold to €120,000 and full restriction level to €180,000 and to impose an effective income tax rate of 38% on those subject to the full restriction, would generate an additional yield in the order of €67 million. USC and PRSI would also be payable by the individuals concerned.

It should be noted that this estimate takes no account of any changes in taxpayer behaviour which might arise from the introduction of such a change.

In relation to effective income tax rates I would point out that, a single employee earning €180,000 this year would have an effective income tax rate of 34.4%, where only the personal and PAYE tax credits were claimed.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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84. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue that was generated when the standard fund threshold was reduced from €5 million to €2.3 million in 2010. [29499/15]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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85. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue that would be generated by disallowing tax relief for pensions when a standard fund threshold of €1.3 million is exceeded by a person. [29500/15]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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87. To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No.114 of 24 June 2015, in which he estimated that a reduction in the standard fund threshold to €2 million and the increase in the current single factor of 20 would raise €120 million in 2014, the expected yield if the standard fund threshold was reduced to €1.5 million, and the current single factor of 20 used to value the defined benefit pensions for the standard fund threshold increased factors by 20%, varying with age. [29502/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 84, 85 and 87 together.

The Standard Fund Threshold (SFT) is the maximum allowable pension fund on retirement for tax purposes which was introduced in Budget and Finance Act 2006 to prevent over-funding of pensions through tax-relieved arrangements. The threshold was initially set at €5 million, which was subsequently reduced to €2.3 million in 2010 and further reduced in Budget 2014 and Finance (No 2) Act 2013 to €2 million with effect from 1 January 2014.

The full year yield from the reduction in the SFT to €2.3 million with effect from 7 December 2010 was estimated at the time of the change at €20 million.

Information on the numbers and values of individual pension funds or on individual accrued benefits in pension schemes are not generally required to be supplied to either the Revenue Commissioners or to my Department by the administrators of pension schemes and personal pension arrangements. The estimate of the yield of €120 million in 2014 and in a full year arising from the changes to the SFT regime introduced in Finance (No 2) Act 2013 was arrived at following considerable internal work over a period by my Department involving, among other things, data gathering and consultation with private sector sources relating to the specific changes to be made. There is no readily available underlying data or methodology on which to base reliable estimates of the savings that would arise from further changes to the SFT of the scale envisaged in the questions.

I would also like to clarify some points arising from the questions raised. The Deputy might note that the SFT regime does not involve the non-application of tax relief to pension contributions. Instead, the regime addresses the problem of pension overfunding and excessive pension accrual by imposing a much higher effective tax charge on the value of retirement benefits above set limits when they are drawn down, thus discouraging the accumulation through contributions of large pension funds in the first place or unwinding the tax advantage of such overfunding by way of the higher effective tax charge.

Finally, the valuation factors to be used for establishing the capital value of defined benefit pension rights at the point of retirement for SFT purposes, and which accrue after 1 January 2014, were changed by Finance (No 2) Act 2013 from the previous single factor of 20 to a range of higher age-related valuation factors that vary with the individual's age at the point at which the pension rights are drawn down. The higher factors range from 37 for defined benefit pension entitlements drawn down at age 50 or under to a factor of 22 for pensions drawn down at age 70 or over.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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86. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue that would be raised for the Exchequer by reducing the earnings cap for pension contributions from €115,000 to €60,000. [29501/15]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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104. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue that would be generated through the abolition of tax relief for employer pension contributions to employee pension funds. [29521/15]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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105. To ask the Minister for Finance the value of employer pension contributions to employee pension schemes in 2014. [29522/15]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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106. To ask the Minister for Finance the value of employee pension contributions to their pension schemes in 2014. [29523/15]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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107. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue that would be generated by capping employer pension contributions at €60,000 per employee. [29524/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 104 to 107, inclusive, together.

Regarding the first question, I am informed by Revenue that, based on the latest information available, a reduction of the €115,000 ceiling to €60,000 per annum on the annual earnings limit for determining maximum allowable pension contributions for pension purposes, is tentatively estimated to yield in the region of €135 million.

Regarding the second question, I am informed by Revenue that in 2013, the latest year for which data are available, the cost to the Exchequer of tax relief for employer pension contributions to employee pension funds, was in the order of €133 million.

Regarding the third question, I am informed by Revenue that the overall value of employer pension contributions in 2014 is estimated to be in the order of €1.38 billion. This total figure includes employer contributions to both Occupational Pensions and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts.

Regarding the fourth question, I am informed by Revenue that the overall value of employee pension contributions in 2014 is estimated to be in the order of €1.5 billion.  This total figure includes employee contributions to Occupational Pensions, Retirement Annuity Contracts and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts.

Regarding the final question, I am informed by Revenue that data on employer contributions to pension schemes and other pension arrangements are supplied to them in aggregate form and do not provide a sufficient basis to provide a reliable estimate of any tax saving in the terms set out in the question.