This section deal with repayment of tax in respect of donations to designated charities. The Minister will be aware of the many pre-budget submissions from charitable organisations seeking amendments to this section. It would ease the concerns of those organisations and others if the Minister, without revealing his budget plans, would give an indication that he will look seriously at the case being made by the charities with a view to including the modifications they seek in respect of corporate donations. It is not a major policy issue. An indication of leniency towards their submission by the Minister would be helpful at this stage.
SECTION 848.
Question proposed: "That section 848 stand part of the Bill".
I am familiar with this problem. When I was a member of the Opposition I was lobbied extensively by the Irish charities tax reform group. I remember associating my name with an amendment in this regard.
It was an excellent amendment.
The then Minister did not accept it for many good reasons. Since my appointment there has been considerable lobbying about this matter by the Irish charities tax reform group and by individual charities. My officials met them recently and it is a matter to which I am giving consideration in the budget.
The amendment introduced by the former Minister, Deputy Quinn, in relation to Third World charities was worthwhile but it upset the level of the playing pitch, as it were, with regard to home based charities. Other considerations must be taken into account because about 9,000 charities have CHY certificates from the Revenue Commissioners. It is therefore a matter to which I must give careful consideration.
I have examined the proposals again in my capacity as Minister. My mind is open on the matter and I will give it further consideration between now and the announcement of the budget. I am favourably disposed to the idea and if I can marry that to my responsibility as guardian of the public purse I will endeavour to do so.
The Minister will have the support of the Opposition in that regard.
I raised this subject on Second Stage. I know the Minister will have to dispose of some funds if he allows this to happen. We examined all of the options on a previous occasion and there is a very good case for looking at this even it is capped in some way so that we will initially be able to quantify it. The Minister may want to adopt that approach. A need exists in this area and charities feel that if such a facility were provided they would benefit greatly. These charities do a great deal of good work, much of which the State cannot or is unable to do.
I will certainly bear the Deputy's representations in mind. I would like to be able to assist in this matter and if I can I will. We must wait until after the budget and when the Finance Bill has been passed.
There is tremendous merit in Deputy Ferris' proposal. However, I am concerned that corporate taxpayers might be given an advantage which would not apply to personal taxpayers. A person who pays tax at the rate of 48 per cent may decide, out of generosity, to donate £1,000 of their taxed income to charity. A company which pays 10 or 10.5 per cent tax on their profits can receive tax relief on a similar donation. We must be politically conscious not to disadvantage individual donors even though I am aware that the loss to the Exchequer would probably be greater in that case. In the case of corporate bodies one tax allowable expense may merely have to be switched to another but that would not apply in the case of an individual. Perhaps minimum and maximum thresholds could be established so that the costs of administration would not be excessive. That might prove useful.
I can see where the Deputy is coming from and I know he is trying to help my case. He is, in fact, halving my case; successive Ministers for Finance have been advised that if this area is opened up it could prove never ending. The charities tax reform group are seeking relief on corporate donations; I accept that one may, in time, have to open the door to individual donors and that would incur considerable cost.
Other factors in addition to costs are involved here; the policing of charities is something which has exercised the minds of successive Ministers for Justice. Deputy Noonan may have been the Minister who asked an external group to report on charities; I know that two separate reports exist in relation to charities one of which is the Costello report and the other a report by the former Minister of State, Joan Burton. The Irish charities tax reform group is making a specific proposal on corporate donations and that is the issue I am considering at present.
It is true to say that in other jurisdictions relief is allowed on charitable donations for both corporations and individuals. It will be some considerable time yet before we go down that road here. Perhaps, if the policing and organisation of charities could be allocated to a registrar or if we could adopt some other proposal from the Costello report, it would be possible to open up a lobby on that. Initially, I will try to deal with the lobby from the charities tax reform group in regard to corporate donations. I know the Deputy is trying to be helpful but Department of Finance officials are well aware of the issue.
I would like to thank the Minister for a benign response. The request being made is for certain, well defined, limited donations from the corporate sector and I would advocate that the Minister consider this issue seriously as it will prove very worthwhile.
We are now at the end of the general sections and special provisions and are moving onto management provisions and schedules. Before we leave what we have considered heretofore I want the Minister to clarify a point I raised on Second Stage. Much of the tax law incorporated in the 848 sections we have dealt with has been tested in court. To effectively provide facilities for professionals and others in this area references to case law should be readily accessible and cross referenced to the Taxes Consolidation Act. What is the position on that?
I recently received a letter from some of the bodies in this area seeking that such case law be consolidated. It would be very good if that could be achieved. That would be almost as big a task as consolidating the Income Tax Acts. I may have dealt with a parliamentary question on this issue recently; we are bearing it in mind.
We would like to consolidate the areas of VAT, gift tax and capital acquisitions tax. The Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Finance are attempting to put a project together which would consolidate stated case law in a wide variety of areas. That would be of tremendous benefit alongside the Taxes Consolidation Bill. It would also be of tremendous benefit to practitioners and people with an interest in this area if all of the other areas could be consolidated into one bound volume. I agree with Deputy Noonan's comments and I hope it will be possible to achieve that in the coming years although it will be a mammoth task. Perhaps when we go into private session one of the officials from the Revenue Commissioners might give a view on this.
Question put and agreed to.
Sections 849 and 850 agreed to.