Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 September 2014
189. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Finance the amount income tax relief on pensions has cost the Exchequer in 2012 and 2013; and the percentage that benefited those on the higher and lower rates of income tax respectively. [33040/14]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the cost to the Exchequer of income tax relief relating to private pension contributions for 2012 and 2013 is not yet available. The following table provides a breakdown of the estimated cost for 2011, the latest year for which data are available.
It should be borne in mind that the costing of tax and other reliefs in the pensions area may suggest a significant notional loss in terms of tax foregone as compared with the savings that might be expected if the tax relief was not available. However, where tax relief arrangements are of such significance, the removal of the reliefs would represent a fundamental adjustment to the tax system and would have significant economic and behavioural impacts implications. These impacts are difficult to model in advance and the costing of tax reliefs should be treated with some caution.
I have also been informed by the Revenue Commissioners that a breakdown of the cost of tax relief by reference to income tax rates is not readily available. Employers' returns to the Revenue Commissioners of employee contributions to such schemes are aggregated at employer level. There is, therefore, no basis for providing the breakdown requested.
|
Estimate of the cost of certain tax reliefs for private pension provision |
2011 - Estimated costs |
|
** |
€ Million |
|
Employees' Contribution to approved Superannuation Schemes |
584 |
|
Employers' Contribution to approved Superannuation Schemes |
142 |
|
Estimated cost of exemption of employers' contributions from employee BIK |
532 |
|
Retirement Annuity Contracts (RACs) |
164 |
|
Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) |
72 |
|
TOTAL |
1,494 |
