Skip to main content
Normal View

Tax Code.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 May 2004

Thursday, 6 May 2004

Questions (43)

Brendan Howlin

Question:

35 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Finance if, in regard to the comments to the Committee of Public Accounts on 22 April 2004 by the Secretary General of his Department, he will outline the review it is proposed to take of the State’s tax incentive and exemption schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12977/04]

View answer

Written answers

As the Deputy may know, tax based schemes are regularly reviewed and are invariably looked at in the context of the annual Budget Statement and Finance Bill process to ensure they continue to meet the purpose or purposes for which they were introduced. What the Secretary General said to the PAC was that it is important that data be improved to facilitate assessments of such expenditures and reliefs. In this context, my Department has been working closely with the Revenue Commissioners to investigate information and data capture issues arising with a view to producing possible solutions.

I am conscious that capturing additional information on tax return forms requires balancing the manner of obtaining the information with due regard to not overburdening compliant taxpayers and, bearing this in mind, the Revenue Commissioners will be introducing a number of changes to the forms relating to the annual return of income in respect of the tax year 2004 and to the P35 form which is returned to Revenue at end year with totals for earnings and deductions for each employee — in respect of the tax year 2005.

These changes will yield additional information regarding the cost of various tax reliefs and relief in relation to pensions. I included provisions in the Finance Act 2004 to underpin these changes. In addition the use of the Revenue on-line system, ROS, has been increasing and will continue to be encouraged. Returns filed in this way can readily accommodate information data capture in relation to tax reliefs being claimed without overburdening the taxpayer.

Detailed reviews of the costs and benefits of various tax reliefs are carried out from time to time. Examples of this are the reviews carried out on tax reliefs for urban renewal, films and the business expansion scheme.

Top
Share