Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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87. To ask the Minister for Finance the gains in revenue from the cumulative effect of six proposed measures (details supplied). [13880/16]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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88. To ask the Minister for Finance the gains in revenue from the cumulative effect of six proposed measures (details supplied). [13881/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 87 and 88 together.

I assume the Deputy's questions refer to the measure to limit the use of certain tax reliefs and exemptions (known as 'specified reliefs') by high-income individuals introduced in the 2006 and 2007 Finance Acts (the restriction was subsequently modified in later Finance Acts).

As the Deputy may be aware, Revenue publishes an annual report on the functioning of the restriction. These reports are available at: .

I am advised by Revenue that the data required to provide a definitive estimate of the yield from the totality of measures outlined by the Deputy is not available. Form RR1s, which must be returned in respect of the use of specified reliefs, are not available for the additional cases who would be newly subject to the relief restrictions under proposals (iii), (iv) and (v) concerning the computation of the unrestricted amount of specified reliefs, vis the reduction of the Relief Threshold Amount from €80,000 to either €35,000 or €30,000 and the reduction of the alternate Adjusted Income criteria from 20% to 15% or the inclusion of additional reliefs. Nor are the requisite data in respect of Trusts available to enable the yield from proposal (vi) to be estimated.

In relation to proposals (i) and (ii) in respect of the first question, based on personal income tax returns filed for the year 2013, the latest year for which data are available, it is tentatively estimated that reducing the entry level adjusted income threshold to €120,000 and the full restriction level to €200,000, would generate an additional yield in the order of €41 million.

In relation to proposals (i) and (ii) in respect of the second question, based on personal income tax returns filed for the year 2013, the latest year for which data are available, it is tentatively estimated that reducing the entry level adjusted income threshold to €110,000 and the full restriction level to €200,000, would generate an additional yield in the order of €43 million.

It should be noted that these estimates take no account of any changes in taxpayer behaviour.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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89. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue that would be generated by reducing the standard fund threshold from €2 million to €1.7 million, to €1.5 million, to €1.3 million and to €1 million. [13882/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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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.

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 expected to arise from the changes to the SFT regime introduced in Budget 2014 and Finance (No 2) Act 2013 referred to above 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 revenue that would arise from further changes to the SFT of the scale envisaged in the question.