Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 June 2005
34 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Finance if, arising from the recent report from the Revenue Commissioners on the effective tax rates of the top 400 earners for the tax year 2001, the reason a decision has been made that anyone who pays DIRT will not be counted as having a zero percent effective tax rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18280/05]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners in relation to their recent report on effective tax rates for high earners that for the small number of taxpayers whose income consisted of very large sums of deposit interest, DIRT deducted meant that their effective rate of income tax paid was very close to the 20% standard rate — the rate at which DIRT is deducted from deposit interest. This is because DIRT deducted at the standard rate is a final tax. The taxpayer has no further liability to income tax on the deposit interest concerned. Deposit interest retention tax is income tax no less than any other income tax and it is appropriate to include it in such studies on tax paid by those on high incomes. That this was not done in the past was an oversight which has now been corrected.
