asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider confining the tax remission in respect of creative artistic work to persons who have Irish nationality.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Tax Concessions.
1.
Legislation on the lines suggested by the Deputy would, apart from any other consideration be in conflict with our international double taxation conventions all of which include an article forbidding discrimination for tax purposes on the grounds of nationality. Such legislation would also be contrary to our EEC obligations. The Deputy will recall that article 7 of the Treaty of Rome provides that, within the field of application of the treaty, any discrimination on the grounds of nationality shall be prohibited.
2.
asked the Minister for Finance whether there are residence qualifications for non-Irish citizens before they become eligible for tax exemption under the scheme for creative writers; if so, the period of residence; and whether an author (name supplied) qualifies for tax exemption under the scheme.
In order to qualify for the relief under section 2 of the Finance Act, 1969, a writer or artist must for any given year be a person resident in the State, for income tax purposes, and not resident elsewhere. There is no qualifying period of residence as such. Secrecy obligations prevent the Revenue Commissioners from giving any information about the tax affairs of any individual and I am, therefore, unable to state what the position is in relation to the author in question.
It is noted that the Deputy who put down the questions is not here.
3.
asked the Minister for Finance if he will exempt old age pensions and Old IRA military service pensions for income tax purposes.
In principle all pensions are treated for income tax purposes as earned income and it would not be equitable to differentiate for tax purposes between pensions and other earnings or between different categories of pensions. Accordingly, I regret that it would not be feasible to give the exemption sought by the Deputy. However, I would like to emphasise that a pensioner whose sole income is a non-contributory old age pension would not incur liability to tax, having regard to the personal tax allowances available.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary agree that it is very unfair to an old age pensioner? I can quote a case where an old age pensioner had a job minding a dispensary and this brought him just within the income tax bracket and I was astonished to find that the old age pension was taxed. Old age pensioners should be exempt and so should Old IRA pensioners. That law should be changed. It is unfair.
A question, please.
It is not a non-contributory old age pension.
It is non-contributory.
As the Deputy knows, if we broadened the exemption we would have pensioners of the Defence Forces, national schoolteachers, Garda Síochána and perhaps Deputies seeking exemption.