Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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203. To ask the Minister for Finance the tax changes that are already programmed through legislation, such as the decrease in DIRT year on year; the way these changes are factored into the fiscal space; the cost of each change per year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16476/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, discretionary revenue measures increase or decrease fiscal space depending on whether they raise or lower tax revenue. Where tax expenditures are due to end, fiscal space in the following year will increase. Similarly, fiscal space will decrease if a revenue raising measure ends. The key point of contact with the European Commission on these matters is the draft budgetary plan submitted for the year ahead by the 15th of October each year. It includes a table in which the detail of measures worth more than 0.05% of GDP should be set out. 

The table below sets out the tax changes which are already legislated for and will have an impact on fiscal space in 2018 or beyond. As Deputy is aware, measures which were introduced in Budget 2017 and took effect in 2017, will have a carryover effect into 2018 and use 2018 fiscal space. However, for the purpose of this reply these measures have been excluded as they have already been provided to the Deputy as part of the reply to Parliamentary Question 109 (Ref number 14875/17) of the 28March 2017. In addition, tax measures which have already been legislated for but include a sunset clause have also been excluded from the reply. These measures will be reviewed as part of the budgetary process each year to determine whether the provisions will be extended.

However, it is important to point out that as part of the annual Budget documentation, all tax measures which are announced, regardless of whether the measures have been legislated for, are assumed to take place and therefore included in the fiscal space arithmetic.