Vol. 576 No. 6
77 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Finance his plans to review the tax laws in regard to residency status especially in view of the information supplied by the Revenue Commissioners that it is not possible at present to identify the number of persons claiming to be non-resident for tax purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30092/03]
82 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Finance if he is considering changes in the test for deciding whether a person is a resident here for tax purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30155/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 82 together.
As the Deputies may be aware, the residence rules were last updated in the 1994 Finance Act by the then Government following a comprehensive review of the matter by the Revenue Commissioners and my Department. Prior to this, the rules were based on a mixture of statutory provisions, old case law and Revenue administrative practice, which was an unsatisfactory situation. The new residence rules set out in the 1994 Finance Act both simplified and clarified the area and were generally welcomed.
Section 69 of the Finance Act 2003 contains an amendment to domestic law which imposes a charge to capital gains tax on an individual in respect of a deemed disposal of certain assets on the last day of the last year of assessment for which the individual is taxable in the State, prior to becoming taxable elsewhere, where the individual disposes of these assets while resident outside the State and returns to the State within five years. I announced this anti-avoidance measure in my 2003 budget on 4 December 2002 with effect from that date.
I have no plans at present to review the tax laws further or amend any tests associated with determining residency status for Irish tax purposes.
