Pearse Doherty
Question:86. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the cost of reducing excise duty on fuel by five cent in the litre. [30928/13]
View answerExcise Duties Yield
Questions (86)
Written answers
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a five cent reduction in the excise duty on auto-fuels would cost the Exchequer an estimated €74.4 million in the case of petrol and €97.7 million in the case of auto-diesel.
Departmental Websites
Questions (87)
Mattie McGrath
Question:87. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the person responsible for the management of the Revenue website; the person directly responsible for the updating of the VAT code section of the Revenue website; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30959/13]
View answerWritten answers
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that overall responsibility for managing their website rests with their Corporate Affairs and Customs Division.
Content for the website is provided to Corporate Affairs and Customs Division by the business areas responsible for the various taxes and duties. Indirect Taxes Division is responsible for VAT legislation, interpretation and information although VAT information may also be published on the website by other Divisions.
The Taxes and Duties section of the Revenue website contains a range of information regarding VAT. If the Deputy has a query about a particular aspect of the information, Revenue will be happy to advise further.
Tax Code
Questions (88)
Pearse Doherty
Question:88. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to any expressions of interest in the establishment of REITs in Ireland since the passing of the Finance Act. [30979/13]
View answerWritten answers
I have today welcomed the announcement of the launch of Ireland’s first REIT following the Budget 2013 announcement and introduction of legislation in the Finance Act. REITs will provide stable, long-term capital investment into the commercial property sector in Ireland. The establishment of Ireland’s first REIT and the rising level of activity and interest in the commercial property market are further indications that the range of initiatives this Government has introduced are contributing to the stabilisation and recovery of the property sector in Ireland.
Officials in my Department have also met with a small number of other groups who have expressed interest in the establishment of an Irish REIT.
Tax Code
Questions (89)
Pearse Doherty
Question:89. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider the possibility whereby applicants using the export repayment scheme calculator could provide details of car registration number for definitive verification on whether a car may already have been the subject of VRT repayments (details supplied). [30982/13]
View answerWritten answers
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the VRT export repayment calculator is available to the public on revenue.ie. Making VRT details for a specific vehicle registration number available to the public would breach taxpayer confidentiality and therefore the calculator operates on the basis of generic vehicle details such as make, model and age. Details concerning any previous repayment or remission of VRT are provided when the vehicle is presented for a pre-export inspection and the documentation is verified.
The VRT Export Repayment Scheme is a new scheme that started in April to facilitate the export of second-hand vehicles. I am advised by Revenue that they intend to keep the scheme under review to monitor its impact and to ensure that adequate controls are in place. They have also informed me that they have not received representations from the trade or individuals about this aspect of the scheme.
VAT Payments
Questions (90)
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
Question:90. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Finance if a retailer is entitled to recoup the VAT portion of a loss in its VAT return when it chooses to sell alcohol at a price below the cost of purchase; if the reintroduction of the groceries order on alcohol would prevent this from happening; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31017/13]
View answerWritten answers
I would point out that VAT is a tax on the value added to a supply, and the collection and recovery of VAT takes place at each stage of the chain of supply from manufacturing to retailer. Under EU and domestic VAT rules traders who are registered for VAT collect VAT on the goods and services that they sell. In turn such traders are entitled to recover the VAT they incur on their business inputs used in the purchase or production of goods or delivery of services. Consequently, if there is a decrease in value at any stage in the process the trader is entitled to a refund of the excess of VAT incurred over that collected.
In this case, where a retailer is in a situation of net VAT gain as a result of below cost selling, this is not a loss to the Exchequer or an additional benefit to the retailer, it is merely how VAT is charged.
With regard to the reintroduction of the groceries order on alcohol, I am informed by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation that prices in Ireland are generally not subject to control. Pricing strategies are therefore a matter for individual retailers and licensees and are the normal outcome of the competitive process. In this respect, I understand that the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has no plans to reintroduce a groceries order in respect of alcohol or any other product.
State Banking Sector
Questions (91)
Pearse Doherty
Question:91. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the market value of his shares in AIB and Bank of Ireland respectively. [31110/13]
View answerWritten answers
The Directed Portfolio of the NPRF consists of investments in Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland. Since 2009 the Fund has invested €20.7 billion in preference shares and ordinary shares in the two banks, comprising Bank of Ireland €4.7 billion (where the Fund’s shareholding is 15.1 per cent) and Allied Irish Banks €16.0 billion (where the Fund’s shareholding is 99.8 per cent). The Fund to date has received a total of €2.2 billion in cash from its Bank of Ireland investment – comprising preference share dividends, the repurchase of warrants by the Bank and the sale of ordinary shares to a consortium of private investors.
The Portfolio was valued at €8.8 billion at 31 March 2013 and pending completion of an independent valuation review, comprised: ordinary shares, provisionally valued at €0.0079 per share (AIB) and €0.154 per share (BOI); and preference shares, provisionally valued at end 2012 valuations of 66% of par (AIB) and 92% of par (BOI).
The final year end valuation will be reflected in the Fund’s audited financial statements for 2012 which will be published in July 2013. Separate to the NPRF portfolio, the Minister directly holds €1.6bn of contingent capital instruments in AIB.
Property Tax Assessments
Questions (92)
Seán Fleming
Question:92. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Finance the number of cases in which the Revenue are seeking legal advise in respect of returns for the local property tax by liable persons and organisations; if there are any matters arising that may require changes to the legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31137/13]
View answerWritten answers
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners they are not looking for legal advice in respect of returns from liable persons or organisations.
A High Court challenge to the Local Property Tax has been lodged. Revenue, along with many other State entities, is one of the named defendants. The Chief State Solicitor is the solicitor on record acting for all State defendants. The case is being vigorously defended by the Chief State Solicitor on behalf of the State defendants.
I am not currently contemplating making amendments to the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, as amended by the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2013.
Schools Building Contractors
Questions (93)
Luke 'Ming' Flanagan
Question:93. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the measures he will put in place to reduce the barriers to small building contractors tendering for public works, such as the building of extensions to primary schools; if he will address the minimum turnover of €400,000 that is required to enter a tender process; his views on whether such work would be welcomed by the smaller contractors, many of whom have been very hard hit since the downturn in the construction industry started in 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30899/13]
View answerWritten answers
School building projects are tendered in line with public procurement procedures.
There are two methods of tendering (the Restricted procedure and the Open procedure). In both procedures there are minimum standards for participation (including previous experience, turnover, insurances, capacity to obtain a bond etc). The minimum standards for participation are stated in the Contract notice/eTenders advertisement. For school building projects the miniumum turnover is not set at €400,000; it is determined individually for each school building project and generally set at a level which takes into account the contract size and duration.
For less complex projects of a small to medium scale, the open procedure is generally used and all contractors meeting the minimum standards are entitled to submit a tender (thus facilitating the inclusion of small to medium enterprises and those with no experience in educational projects).
For larger or more complex projects, where it is considered that pre-qualification of contractors is warranted, the Restricted procedure is normally used. In the Restricted procedure, there is an intermediary qualification stage during which the numbers of applicants is reduced (or restricted) to a specified amount (normally 10). The criteria for suitability assessment, which are taken from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's Capital Management Works Framework, include company turnover, insurances, capacity to obtain a bond, personnel for the project, previous experience, and Health and Safety competence.
Guidance on this process and standard questionnaires used are available on my Department's website.
In any procurement process my Department adheres to the rules and guidelines set down by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the EU Commission in relation to public procurement. This includes the Department of Finance Circular 10/10, which aims to remove obstacles to SMEs in tendering for public sector contracts.