John Halligan
Question:54. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Finance if he will explain the way in which taxes (details supplied) are used and the matters they fund [46684/12]
View answerWednesday, 24 October 2012
Questions (54)
Written answers
Generally speaking all revenues of the State, including tax revenues are paid into the Central Fund. They are not assigned to specific areas of expenditure but rather form part of the pot from which overall Exchequer expenditure is funded. However, it is the case that receipts from the Household Charge are directed to the Local Government Fund, rather than the Central Fund.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform published the Revised Book of Estimates (REV) for 2012 in February. The REV sets out the voted expenditure allocations for every Government Department and Office. A breakdown of expenditure from the Local Government Fund is shown on page 114 of the 2012 REV.
Similarly, receipts from PRSI are allocated to the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) and the National Training Fund (NTF), rather than the Central Fund. The bulk of receipts go to the SIF. Spending from the SIF is directed to benefit schemes. A complete breakdown of expenditure from the SIF can be found in the 2012 Further Revised Estimate for the Department of Social Protection. It should be noted that as the income of the SIF is presently insufficient to cover all of its expenditures, a subvention is required from the Exchequer to meet the shortfall. Expenditure under the NTF supports training and the identification of skills needs. A breakdown of NTF expenditure can be found on page 133 of the 2012 REV. It should be noted note that the estimated income from contributions on the NTF in 2012 has been revised to €300.8 million.
PAYE, Universal Social Charge (USC) and DIRT receipts form part of income tax and are paid into the Central Fund. They are therefore available, along with other sources of tax revenue, non-tax revenue and capital receipts as well as the funds sourced from borrowing, to fund overall Exchequer expenditure.