Mary O'Rourke
Question:79 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Minister for Finance the number of people currently paying income tax on their contributory old age pension; and the amount of finance that accrues to the State from this measure. [2269/96]
Written Answers - Tax on Pensions.
The only relevant information available is in respect of recipients of social welfare pensions, of whom some 32,000 individuals aged 65 years or over are estimated to have taxable incomes.
Income tax statistics do not distinguish between the amounts of tax that arise from pensions and from other sources. In 1994-95 terms the amount of all types of social welfare pension income returned by individuals aged 65 years or over who were liable to tax is estimated at approximately £139 million. The extent to which taxation actually arises in a given case depends, of course, on the amount of other income that the social welfare recipient, or the recipient's spouse, has in the particular tax year. If there is no other income in addition to the social welfare payment, the existing exemption limits and allowances can be expected to ensure that there is no tax to be paid on the social welfare income itself.