Vol. 481 No. 2
12 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the approximate value of VAT receipts to date earned on tapes, CDs and so on of the Elton John song entitled "Candle in the Wind"; the VAT receipts predicted if this record achieves its expected sales; and if he will assign the money raised from this record to charitable purposes. [15311/97]
The Revenue Commissioners have no data available to them to indicate the level of sales or the amount of VAT collected in respect of such sales of the above mentioned recording, or indeed, of any individual recording.
I understand from media reports that the expected sales of the recording are substantial. In this regard, I can inform the Deputy that for every £100,000 worth of retail sales, approximately £17,350 goes to the Exchequer in VAT receipts.
As regards the possible assignment of the VAT collected to charitable purposes, there is no provision in VAT law whereby this could be achieved. Any donation would have to be made through the public expenditure system and the Government has no plans to do so. However, the State already provides substantial funding to charitable organisations and provides generous relief from direct taxes.
