Pearse Doherty
Question:156. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the amount the State has foregone due to tax reliefs related to the construction of wind farms to date and by year from 2010 onwards. [45843/13]
View answerTuesday, 5 November 2013
Questions (156)
Written answers
With regard to VAT, under the VAT (Refund of Tax) (Flat-rate Farmers) Order 2012, flat-rate farmers, who are not registered for VAT, can claim a refund of tax borne on the purchase of a wind turbine for the purposes of micro-generation of electricity for use in a farm business, where that wind turbine was purchased on or after 1 January 2012. There are no statistics available as to the cost to the Exchequer of this measure since it was introduced in 2012. The scheme of accelerated capital allowances for expenditure on specified energy-efficient equipment allows companies to write-off the full cost of such equipment against their taxable income in the year the expenditure is incurred. The scheme came into operation in late 2008 and does not apply to expenditure by private individuals.
Data on the overall use of the scheme was requested from companies in the Corporate Tax return (CT1) for the first time in respect of accounting periods ending in 2009 but it does not require separate identification of claims in relation to wind farms under the scheme.
The data on wind farms is included in the data that is available in relation to relief for investment in renewable energy generation provided for under Section 486B, Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997. The total amount of corporation tax foregone as a result of this scheme is estimated at close on €17.1 million since inception to end 2012, the latest year for which figures are available.
Due to the relatively small number of claims arising in 2010, 2011 and 2012 I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that their obligation to observe confidentiality for taxpayers and small groups of taxpayers precludes them from providing the information requested in respect of those years.