Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 June 2005
180 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Finance the total number of taxpayers in receipt of mortgage interest relief; the total amount of interest forfeited by Revenue in respect of the mortgage interest relief scheme. [23113/05]
View answer181 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Finance the total number of applicants each year in the past five years for mortgage interest relief. [23114/05]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 180 and 181 together.
It is assumed that what the Deputy requires is the number of claimants for mortgage interest relief and the total amount of tax relief granted by the Revenue Commissioners under the tax relief at source system. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the numbers of claimants for mortgage interest relief in each of the five years up to 2004 are as in the table.
|
Year |
Number |
|
2000/01 |
448,400 |
|
2001 (short tax year) |
474,800 |
|
2002 |
587,700 |
|
2003 |
622,500 |
|
2004 |
645,500 |
Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred as appropriate. The figures for 2002 onwards are provisional estimates and are likely to be revised. It should be noted that a married couple who has elected or has been deemed to have elected for joint assessment is counted as one tax unit. The estimated cost of the relief to the Exchequer in 2004 was €230 million.
182 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Finance the number of section 23 and section 27 reliefs sought and awarded for each year for the past five years; the total number of taxpayers who benefited from all forms of section 23 reliefs and from any other form of urban renewal reliefs over the past five years. [23115/05]
View answer183 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Finance the estimated total amount of tax per year foregone due to section 23 reliefs; the estimated total amount of tax per year foregone due to other urban renewal reliefs. [23116/05]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 182 and 183 together.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that, until recently, claims for section 23/section 27 reliefs and other similar reliefs, were aggregated in tax returns with other claims, such as with industrial buildings allowances generally or with other capital allowances, and did not distinguish between the reliefs claimed in respect of the different schemes and so were not separately identifiable. Details of tax relief claimed for investment in these schemes were not captured by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners in such a way as to provide a specific basis for compiling estimates of the total annual cost to the Exchequer or the numbers of taxpayers who benefited from these reliefs.
My Department and the Revenue Commissioners examined how information capture in this area could be improved and the Revenue Commissioners have introduced changes to the income tax returns forms which are intended to yield additional information on the take up of a range of reliefs claimed by individuals. These changes include information on claims in respect of section 23/section 27 reliefs and other similar reliefs. This information will begin to become available from late 2005. Corresponding changes have been made to the corporation tax return form which will produce similar information for accounting periods ending in 2005 and subsequent years.
