Written answers
Wednesday, 5 February 2025
Department of Finance
Insurance Levy
Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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297. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will consider reviewing the application of the 1% life insurance levy on people with a life-long disabilities, particularly in cases where they rely heavily compensation awards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3143/25]
Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that section 124B of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 provides for a Stamp Duty levy of 1% to be levied in respect of certain life insurance premiums paid to insurers. The levy is payable by the insurers to Revenue on a quarterly basis. It was introduced in 2009.
The levy is applied to the premiums paid under certain classes of life insurance policies to the extent that the risks to which the policies relate are located in the State. These classes are as follows:
- Class I – Life assurance and contracts to pay annuities on human life;
- Class II – Contracts of insurance to provide a sum on marriage or the birth of a child;
- Class III – Class I policies linked to investment funds
- Class IV – Permanent Health Insurance;
- Class V – Tontines, i.e., associations of subscribers which are established to benefit the beneficiaries of a subscriber on the death of that subscriber; and
- Class VI – Capital redemption operations, i.e., in return for a single (or periodic) payment agreed in advance, the policy holder will have a right to a specified sum for a specified period in the future.
- premiums received in respect of pension business, as defined in section 706 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, and
- premiums received in the course of or by means of reinsurance.
The Report of the Review is available at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/da341-funds-sector-2030-a-framework-for-open-resilient-and-developing-markets/
Further guidance on the operation of section 124B may be found at www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/documents/notes-for-guidance/stamp-duty/2024/part-09-levies.pdf and further guidance on what is considered ‘pension business’ under section 706 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 may be found at www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/documents/notes-for-guidance/tca/part26.pdf
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