Emmet Stagg
Question:519 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Finance the number of schemes approved under the BES in each of the years from 1994 to date in 1998 and the criteria involved in these approvals. [1366/98]
Written Answers. - Business Expansion Scheme.
The number of schemes approved under the BES in each of the years 1994 to date is as follows.
In order to be approved under the business expansion scheme a company must comply with certain legislative requirements as provided for for in Part 16 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, that is the company must be a qualifying company carrying on qualifying trading operations as defined in that legislation. The following are qualifying trading operations:
(1) the manufacture of goods, (2) the operation of certain tourist traffic undertakings, (3) internationally traded services, (4) certain activities which have the potential to become internationally traded services, (5) the cultivation of mushrooms, (6) the micro-propagation of plants and plant cloning, (7) the cultivation of horticultural produce in greenhouses, (8) the sale of goods by a special trading house, (9) research and development activity which is undertaken with a view to carrying on certain of these qualifying trading operations and which are certified as such by an industrial development agency, (10) commercial research and development activities, (11) trading activities in an exchange facility established in the Custom House Docks area, (12) the construction and leasing of advance factory buildings, (13) the production, publication, marketing and promotion of certain musical recordings by a new artist.
The Revenue Commissioners have published a guide to the Business Expansion Scheme (Leaflet IT 55) and I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Dáil Library.
BES Investments in all Categories by Tax Year.
|
Tax Year |
No. of Approved Projects |
|
1993-94 |
211 |
|
1994-95 |
385 |
|
1995-96 |
395 |
|
1996-97 |
443 |
|
1997-98* |
352 |
|
Total |
1,786 |
*The figures for 1997-98 are for the period up to 22 January 1998.
The total number of projects approved since the BES commenced in 1984 is 3,185.