Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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72. To ask the Minister for Finance if the special assignee relief programme is in the tax base, under the stability programme update, in each of the years 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029, respectively, and the amount in the base for each of those years. [25835/24]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Finance for a full list of current tax expenditures and reliefs currently in operation; and if each tax expenditure is in the tax base, under the stability programme update, in each of the years 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 respectively, and the amount in the base in each of those years, in tabular form. [25836/24]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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76. To ask the Minister for Finance if the rent tax credit is in the tax base, under the stability programme update, in each of the years 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029, respectively, and the amount in the base for each of those years. [25852/24]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 72, 73 and 76 together.

My Department publishes an Annual Report on Tax Expenditures, identifying a list of all tax expenditures in the Irish tax system, as per the OECD definition of a Tax Expenditure. The latest report, Report on Tax Expenditures 2024, was published last October on Budget Day. A list of the tax expenditures in use between October 2022 and September 2023 is set out in part 3 of the Report.

This report is available at the below link: www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/273376/37783ca0-c33f-4017-a145-be7e855d87db.pdf#page=null .

In respect of the SARP, this measure was extended as part of Budget 2023 and is included within the tax base for 2025, and is scheduled to expire at end-2025. The rent tax credit was also introduced at Budget 2023 and is included within the tax base until end-2025.

An amendment to the rent tax credit was introduced in Budget 2024. The cost of this, and other Budget 2024 tax expenditures, was set out in the Tax Policy Changes document published on Budget Day and available at the below link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/de3d4-budget-2024-taxation-measures/ .

If these measures are extended beyond their current expiration date, cost estimates will be subject to revision based on the latest available data at the time.

From a forecasting perspective, measures introduced in previous Budgets are considered to form part of the tax base. The expiration of a tax expenditure will result in a positive impact on the tax revenue projections in that year. The Stability Programme Update is produced on a no-policy-change basis. As such the revenue projections assume the expiration of measures with sunset clauses as currently planned. In the Stability Programme Update, fiscal projections are not published beyond 2027.

My Department will set out the parameters for the Budget 2025 tax package, incorporating the net impact of carryover from previous budget measures, in the Summer Economic Statement, which will be published in the coming period.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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74. To ask the Minister for Finance the current regime with respect to the taxation of carried interest paid to private equity managers; and the revenue raised by tax-carried interest at rates of 20%, 33% and 40%, respectively. [25838/24]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I understand the Deputy is referring to the taxation of carried interest received by certain venture capital managers, as provided for in section 541C of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (‘TCA 1997’).

Section 41 of the Finance (No 2) Act 2008 inserted section 541C TCA 1997 and introduced a new tax regime for the return (known as carried interest) received by venture capital managers for managing investments in certain venture capital funds. The provision treats the carried interest to which the section applies, and which is received by a partnership or a company, as chargeable gains and charges those gains to capital gains tax (‘CGT’) at a rate of 15% if received by an individual or a partnership, or a rate of 12.5% if received by a company, rather than the standard rate of CGT, as provided for in section 28 TCA 1997 and which currently stands at 33%.

In order to qualify for this treatment, investments must be made on or after 1 January 2009 for a period of at least 3 years from the date of the initial investment in private trading companies which are engaged in carrying on a business of research and development or innovation activities. Relief will be given in respect of the amount of carried interest that represents the proportion which the relevant investments in an EEA State, including Ireland, as well as in the United Kingdom bears to the total relevant investments of the qualifying venture capital fund.

According to data published by Revenue, the estimated cost of the treatment provided for in section 541C TCA 1997 in 2022 was €1.1M, reflecting 13 claims across both companies and individuals.

The taxation of returns which arise to venture capital managers for managing investments in venture capital funds that fall outside the scope of section 541C TCA 1997 depends on whether the returns arise in the course of a trade or not. Returns arising in the course of a trade may be subject to income tax or corporation tax, with returns arising in non-trading circumstances more likely to be subject to CGT at the standard rate. The specific treatment is dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. I am advised by Revenue that, in relation to returns that fall outside the scope of section 541C, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of amounts taxable at the various rates across different fact patterns.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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75. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of non-domiciled individuals who have availed of the remittance basis of foreign income and gains in each of the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023; the number of individuals who availed of this basis for more than three years; and if such figures are not recorded, whether he has any concerns that the remittance basis of foreign income and gains with respect to non-domiciled individuals is undermining equity within the taxation system. [25841/24]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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An individual who is resident or ordinarily resident, but not domiciled in the State, is taxable on the remittance basis of tax in respect of foreign income and gains. Such individuals pay tax on:

(1) Income and gains arising in Ireland,

(2) Foreign income which they “remit” or bring into the State, and

(3) Foreign gains which they remit into the State where the gain accrues from the disposal of assets situated outside the State.

It should be noted that the benefit of the remittance basis only arises where such an individual has foreign income or gains for the year. An individual who is taxable on the remittance basis in respect of foreign income or gains is required, under self-assessment provisions, to report the amount of the foreign income or gains which are remitted to the State in a tax return for the year in which the remittance occurs.

As outlined in my answer on 9 April 2024 to a similar query posed by the Deputy (Ref No: 13710/24 ), I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that an individual who is not domiciled in the State must state so when completing an Irish tax return, however, such individuals are not required to report whether they have availed of the remittance basis of foreign income and gains when completing a return. On this basis, it is not possible to confirm the number of non-domiciled individuals who availed on the remittance basis for these years, nor is it possible to confirm the number of individuals who have availed of the remittance basis for more than three years, as appropriate statistics are not available.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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77. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of private renters deemed eligible for the rent tax credit under the allocation provided for it in Budget 2024. [25853/24]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Rent Tax Credit (RTC), as provided for in section 473B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, was introduced by Finance Act 2022 and may be claimed in respect of qualifying rent paid in 2022 and subsequent years to end-2025.

For Budget 2024, it was estimated that approximately 400,000 individual persons would be eligible to claim the RTC.

It should be noted that RTC claims are made are on a ‘taxpayer unit’ basis. A taxpayer unit is either an individual with any personal status who is singly assessed or a couple in a marriage or civil partnership who have elected for joint assessment.

It should also be noted that in order to receive the full taxable benefit in relation to the RTC, a taxpayer must have an Income Tax liability equal to, or greater than, the RTC claimed in order to offset against it.