Vol. 537 No. 2
188 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Finance if any members of State boards appointed by the Government availed of section 1003 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997; if so, the members who so availed and the dates concerned; if their interests were noted on file as a matter of record; and if they made the necessary declarations to the boards or bodies of which they are members. [15803/01]
The Finance Act, 1995, introduced tax relief in respect of the donation of important heritage items to the Irish national collections provided certain conditions are met. It is also necessary that the donor should not receive any consideration, other than the tax relief, as a result of the donation of the item. The relief consists of a non-refundable payment on account of tax of an amount equal to the value of the heritage item donated, which can be offset against the donor's liability to certain taxes. The heritage item must be valued at more than £75,000 and the aggregate of items approved for donation in any one year is limited to £3,000,000.
The heritage item for donation must be approved by a selection committee which is made up of the chairperson of the Heritage Council, the Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, the Director of the Arts Council, the Director of the National Library of Ireland, the Director of the National Museum of Ireland and the Director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
The Revenue Commissioners are responsible for determining the market value of the item and I am informed that, in the absence of a specific statutory provision, they are precluded under confidentiality obligations from naming the beneficiaries of this relief. However, a list of heritage items donated under section 1003, including descriptions and values, are published in Revenue's annual report, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library.
There are Department of Finance guidelines, issued to State bodies, which cover, inter alia, the disclosure of interests by board members. It is a matter primarily for the individuals concerned to ensure that all of their activities are governed by the ethical considerations implicit in the procedures set out in these guidelines. Finally, I should mention that the procedures are currently under review and a revised version of the guidelines, which will be mandatory, will issue shortly.
