Vol. 416 No. 6
33 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider allowing Irish Third World agencies the right to reclaim VAT and to extend the covenant scheme whereby contributions by individuals to such agencies would be tax-deductible.
Third World agencies already enjoy a measure of VAT relief under the terms of VAT Refund Order No. 21. This Order entitles non-profit making philanthropic organisations to reclaim the VAT paid on the purchase or import of goods which are exported for use in the organisation's humanitarian, charitable or teaching activities abroad. There is no restriction on the type of goods which can benefit from this relief or the level of VAT which can be recovered. I have no proposals, at present, to extend the scope of this scheme, nor do I propose to provide tax relief under the covenant scheme for contributions to such groups. As well as being costly in themselves, any such concessions would be bound to lead to calls for similar treatment for charities working in Ireland who are doing equally important and praiseworthy work. I would also remind the House that charities registered with the Revenue Commissioners, including those engaged in Third World relief work, enjoy wide ranging exemptions from most taxes here.
