Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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480. To ask the Minister for Finance the details of the revenue that would be raised by introducing an additional USC rate, of an additional 3% on incomes above €140,000. [44545/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that the estimated first and full year yield to the Exchequer of the Deputy’s proposal would be €405 million and €505 million respectively. This would have the result of increasing the top USC rate on PAYE income from 8 per cent to 11 per cent and for non-PAYE income from 11 per cent to 14 per cent.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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481. To ask the Minister for Finance the details of the revenue that would be raised by increasing commercial stamp duty to 12.5%. [44546/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by Revenue that the yield from increases in the rate of stamp duty on non-residential property is shown is shown in their "Ready Reckoner" (www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/ready-reckoner.pdf) at page 18.

While the exact changes outlined in the question are not included in the document, the changes can be estimated on a straight-line mathematical basis.

It should be noted that making significant changes to rates can have a behavioural impact that is not reflected in the Ready Reckoner.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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482. To ask the Minister for Finance the details of the revenue that would be raised by restricting PRSI exemption for share bases remuneration to SMEs. [44547/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that it is not possible to provide the details sought. Revenue is unable to provide an estimation with regards to the estimated savings associated with restricting the employer PRSI exemption to SMEs on a first and full year basis.

However, Revenue advise that the savings associated with the removal of the existing employer PRSI exemption, that may apply to share-based remuneration operated by employers, is estimated to be in the region of €310 million for all employers. This latest estimate, which is a maximum cost, is based on 2023 data, being the most recent year in respect of which Revenue has full data. Whilst a complete breakdown of this €310 million figure by employer size is not available, a breakdown by employer size for share based remuneration that has been reported through payroll is available. The total PRSI exemption in respect of this cohort is estimated to be €237 million, of which approximately €198 million relates to large enterprises and €39 million relates to micro, small and medium enterprises.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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483. To ask the Minister for Finance the details of the revenue that would be raised by applying an additional 1% stamp duty to all share buybacks. [44548/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by Revenue that as details of share buy backs are not reported on tax returns, there is no data on which to base an accurate estimate of the revenue that would be raised by applying an additional 1% Stamp Duty to all share buybacks.

It should be noted that information in respect of general increases in relation to stamp duty on shares is included in the stamp duty area of Revenue's "Ready Reckoner" which can be found at: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/ready-reckoner.pdf.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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484. To ask the Minister for Finance the details of the revenue that would be raised by reducing the standard fund threshold to 1.5 million. [44549/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, 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.

I am informed by Revenue that they are unable to provide a costing for changes to the SFT. 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 Revenue. Therefore, currently there is no readily available underlying data or methodology on which to base reliable estimates of any possible yields that might be realised arising from reductions to the SFT as outlined by the Deputy.

However, in the context of the 2024 examination of the SFT, my officials examined the issue of estimating the impact of changes to the SFT using only the available information about previous payments of Chargeable Excess Tax (CET) in 2023. Following this examination, the Department prepared some indicative estimated costs of increases to the SFT, based on the information available and a number of assumptions in relation to basis for the CET paid in 2023. The estimated costs do not take account of behavioural changes or future increases in earnings and are based on a reduction of the 2023 CET yield. Applying the model which generated these costs to your question, the indicative estimated yield to the Exchequer arising from reducing the standard fund threshold to €1.5 million would be approximately €50 million.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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485. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue raised by applying a €3,000 tax on private jet departures. [44550/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by Revenue that data on private jet departures is not readily available. However, CSO data on unscheduled departures from Irish main airports (excluding private airports) indicates an average of around 3,000 departures annually. Reports referencing data contained within the Aviation Intelligence Portal suggest more than 6,000 departures of private jets in 2022. Based on this information, the application of a €3,000 tax on private jet departures is estimated to yield in the region of €10 - €20 million in a full year.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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486. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue raised by amending the help-to-buy scheme to reduce the LTV ratio 85% with a maximum relief of €25,000. [44551/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Help to Buy (HTB) incentive, is a scheme to assist first-time purchasers with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. The incentive gives a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in Ireland over the previous four years, subject to limits outlined in the legislation.

The level of support available to first time buyers under the HTB scheme, is whichever is the lesser of:

• €30,000; or

• 10 per cent of the purchase price of the new property; or,

• the amount of Income Tax and DIRT paid in the four years before application for the relief.

One condition of the scheme is that a qualifying first-time purchaser (“FTP”) must take out a loan in an amount equal to at least 70 per cent of the purchase value of the property. In the case of a self-build property, the purchase value is the approved valuation of the self-build property, as approved by the lender in accordance with the Central Bank’s macro prudential rules. These rules stipulate the valuation should include the site value.

The HTB scheme, was initially intended to be limited to persons who had mortgages with a minimum Loan to Value ratio (LTV) of 80 per cent. However, Central Bank data indicated that a sizable number of first-time buyers take out a mortgage with a LTV of less than 80 per cent. As such, it was decided to amend the scheme to set the minimum LTV at 70 percent so as to ensure that first-time buyers did not feel compelled to borrow larger amounts than they would have otherwise in order to qualify for the scheme.

Revenue have advised that the estimated full year saving of amending the help-to-buy scheme to reduce the LTV ratio 85% with a maximum relief of €25,000 would be in the order of €133m.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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487. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue raised by applying CGT to SPV disposing of Irish property. [44552/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Section 110 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA 1997) deals with the taxation regime for special purpose vehicles (SPVs) established in Ireland to securitise assets. Revenue advise that section 110 companies are not permitted to own Irish property assets (land and buildings) directly and so no costing can be provided.

Finance Act 2016 made certain changes to the taxation of qualifying companies under section 110 TCA 1997. The changes, which included the introduction of a new subsection (5A), relate to the taxation of profits derived from the business of qualifying companies that involves the holding, managing or both the holding and managing of specified mortgages, including any activities which are ancillary to that business, after 6 September 2016. Specified mortgages refer to any financial assets that derive their value, or the greater part of their value, directly or indirectly from land in the State. Subsection (5A) requires that the part of the qualifying company's business that relates to specified mortgages is treated as a separate business from any other business the company may carry on and, with certain exceptions, no interest above an arm's length rate is deductible in computing the taxable profits of that part of the business. This separate business of qualifying companies is referred to in legislation as the specified property business.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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488. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue raised by applying CT to all SPV that hold a beneficial interest in any Irish property. [44553/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Revenue advise that section 110 companies are already subject to corporation tax in respect of all profits and gains.

Finance Act 2016 made certain changes to the taxation of qualifying companies under section 110 TCA 1997. The changes, which included the introduction of a new subsection (5A), relate to the taxation of profits derived from the business of qualifying companies that involves the holding, managing or both the holding and managing of specified mortgages, including any activities which are ancillary to that business, after 6 September 2016. Specified mortgages refer to any financial assets that derive their value, or the greater part of their value, directly or indirectly from land in the State. Subsection (5A) requires that the part of the qualifying company's business that relates to specified mortgages is treated as a separate business from any other business the company may carry on and, with certain exceptions, no interest above an arm's length rate is deductible in computing the taxable profits of that part of the business. This separate business of qualifying companies is referred to in legislation as the specified property business.

In circumstances where a qualifying company is the beneficial owner of specified mortgages and legal title is held by a third party, subsection (5A) of section 110 still applies to the qualifying company as it is the beneficial owner of the specified mortgages and any interest arising in respect of them.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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489. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue raised by applying a 0.1% charge on all assets set out in form S110 held by qualifying companies under section 110. [44554/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Central Bank publishes data on a quarterly basis relating to the activities undertaken by Irish registered Special Purpose Entities (SPE). Data is broken down between Financial Vehicle Corporations (FVC) as defined by European Central Bank Legislation (ECB) and ‘Other’ SPEs. FVCs refer to Securitisation SPEs, while Other SPEs refer to all other activities undertaken by SPEs i.e. non-securitisation activity.

*The Central Bank of Ireland advises that the assets under management of FVCs and Other SPEs, which covers the population of section 110 companies, amounted to €1,181bn at the end of Q1 2025 as per the most recent SPE Statistical Release. Please note that a small number of FVCs are not section 110 companies, therefore the total assets may be slightly below these estimates.

Based on a simple calculation of multiplying the tax rate by the total assets: €1,181bn x 0.1% = €1,181m. However, the tax revenue raised would depend on a range of factors including assets within scope, and any changes in business decisions in response to any potential tax change.

*Link: www.centralbank.ie/statistics/data-and-analysis/other-financial-sector-statistics/special-purpose-entities