Vol. 522 No. 2
39 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Finance the correspondence or communications he has received from Mr. Hugh O'Flaherty indicating that he wishes to make a gift to the State of his judicial pension; the procedures that are followed in such a case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18164/00]
Mr O'Flaherty has informed me in writing that it is his intention, on his appointment, to forego his judicial pension for the duration of the appointment in question.
In these circumstances it would be appropriate to "gift" the pension to the Minister for Finance, that is, to the Exchequer. From a procedural point it would be appropriate for him to sign a mandate addressed to the Paymaster General sanctioning the surrender of the pension until further notice. The Revenue Commissioners would also have to be contacted and the appropriate forms completed to enable a PAYE exclusion order be issued.
Section 483 of the 1997 Taxes Consolidation Act provides a relief from income tax or corporation tax in respect of gifts of money accepted by the Minister for Finance for use by the Minister for any purpose for or towards the cost of which public moneys are provided.
Where the Minister accepts a gift for the purposes of section 483, then tax relief is given on the gift by deducting the amount of the gift from the individual's total income before calculating the tax due. If the gift consisted of the return of a state pension, the individual's chargeable income for the tax year, including the pension, would be reduced by the amount of the gift. In effect, from an income tax point of view, the person would be in the same position as if they had not received the income.
