Written Answers Nos. 80-94
80. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the cost of changing the system of taxation of farm quad bikes to a system similar to that which exists in the United Kingdom whereby quads are registered as a light agricultural vehicle, with a nil value tax disc, whereby the quad can be used on the road, if the distance travelled between sites is less than 1.5 km; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36395/14]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that many quad bikes are not manufactured for use on the roads and accordingly are not registered in the State. New quad bikes manufactured for use on the public roads are required to be registered and the application for registration must be accompanied by an appropriate Certificate of Conformity issued by the manufacturer under EU Directive 2002/24/EC (as amended) relating to the type-approval of two or three-wheel motor vehicles and quadricycles.
In the case of quad bikes previously registered in another Member State, the application for registration must be accompanied by the relevant vehicle registration document of that State.
The question as it regards motor tax is a matter for the Minister of Environment, Community and Local Government.
81. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the cost of introducing an earned income credit as recommended by the Commission on Taxation for the self-employed and be equal to the PAYE allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36396/14]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the cost to the Exchequer of extending the PAYE credit to the self employed and proprietary directors is estimated at €470 million in a full year.
These figures are estimates for 2015 from the Revenue tax forecasting model using the latest actual data for the year 2012, adjusted as necessary for income, self-employment and employment trends in the interim. They are, therefore, provisional and may be revised. A married couple or civil partners who have elected or have been deemed to have elected for joint assessment is counted as one tax unit.
83. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will amend capital gains tax restructuring relief to provide for the relief from capital gains tax whereby a person sells two separate holdings to consolidate into one holding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36398/14]
View answerA relief was introduced in Finance Act 2013 on disposals of farm land for farm restructuring, subject to a Commencement Order, which I made on 6 June 2013. The terms of the relief are set out in Section 604B, Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.
The relief applies to a sale, purchase or exchange of agricultural land in the period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2015 where Teagasc has certified that the sale and purchase or an exchange of agricultural land was made for farm restructuring purposes. The initial sale or purchase, or the exchange, must occur in the relevant period and the subsequent sale or purchase must occur within 24 months of that sale or purchase.
Full relief from capital gains tax will be given where the consideration for the purchase or the exchange is equal to or exceeds the consideration for the sale or the other land that is exchanged. Where the consideration for the purchase or the exchange is less than the consideration for the land that is sold or the other land that is exchanged, relief will be given in the same proportion that the consideration for the land that is purchased or exchanged bears to the consideration for the land that is sold or the other land that is exchanged.
Provision is made for the clawback of the relief where qualifying land in respect of which relief has been given is disposed of within 5 years of the date of the purchase or exchange of that land. A clawback does not apply where the disposal arises under a compulsory purchase order.
A prerequisite to any disposal and acquisition of farm land qualifying for this relief is that an application for a farm restructuring certificate is made to Teagasc and that Teagasc grants such a certificate (that has not been withdrawn). Guidelines relating to the application for, and the issue of, a Farm Restructuring Certificate are available on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's website.
The purpose of the relief is to ensure that the sale and purchase of farm land together lead to a reduction in the distance between parcels of land comprised in a farm, thereby leading to an improvement in the viability of the consolidated farm. Depending on the circumstances in any particular case, it may be that the disposal of two separate holdings of land and their replacement with a single holding of equal value may qualify as farm restructuring for the purposes of this relief. This would be a matter for Teagasc to consider in the first instance by reference to the full facts being known.
The farm restructuring relief is one of the measures under consideration in the context of the AgriTaxation Review which I announced in my Budget 2014 speech. The review is be completed shortly and its report is expected to be published around Budget Day. It would not be appropriate for me to comment further in advance of the completion of the review.
86. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the cost of increasing the standard rate band from the current €32,800 by €500, €1000, €1,500 and €2,000 respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36401/14]
View answerI assume that the Deputy refers to an extension of the standard rate income tax band, which would apply similarly to single and widowed persons, as well as to single person child carers. The proposed extension to the standard rate band is assumed to also apply to married couples and civil partnerships. On this basis, I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the full year cost to the Exchequer, estimated by reference to 2015 incomes, of increasing the standard rate tax band by €500, €1,000, €1,500 and €2,000 while also maintaining the current monetary differences between the single persons standard rate band and the various other classes of tax bands, is as follows:
|
Proposed Increase |
Estimated Cost €m |
|
€500 |
90 |
|
€1,000 |
178 |
|
€1,500 |
262 |
|
€2,000 |
350 |
All figures above are estimates for 2015, using the latest actual data for the year 2012 adjusted as necessary for income and employment trends in the interim. They are provisional and may be revised. A married couple or civil partners who have elected or have been deemed to have elected for joint assessment are counted as one tax unit.
87. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide the yield that would be raised by increasing the price of cigarettes by 25 cent and 50 cent, respectively, as well as proportionately across other tobaccos products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36402/14]
View answerI am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that it is assumed the Deputy is referring to an increase in excise and VAT. The estimated yield that could be raised in a full year from the proposed increases is as set out in the table below.
|
Increase (VAT inclusive) |
Yield |
|
25 cent |
€31.7m |
|
50 cent |
€62.9m |
I am advised by the Commissioners that these estimates are based on the assumption of no exceptional change in behaviour by consumers following the increase in prices. This assumption may not hold where consumers substitute non-Irish duty paid consumption for duty paid consumption, or reduce their smoking levels.
88. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Finance his views on the increasing popularity of both social and popular media and that the print media sector in general have been coming under more and more pressure of late as the availability of free news items has adversely affected their trade (details supplied); his further views that this sector has benefitted greatly from the reduced VAT rate of 9% and that it is essential for its survival, particularly the survival of the smaller family run print businesses that this reduced rate remain in place for the forceable future; if he will not increase the VAT rate in the upcoming budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36431/14]
View answerIn July 2011, as part of the Government Jobs Initiative, the 9% reduced VAT rate was introduced and applied to tourism related services, including newspapers. In applying the 9% rate to newspapers, the measure was designed to create additional jobs in the print sector.
It is not the practice to comment on what measures may or may not be introduced in advance of the Budget.
89. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the annual reduction of workers employed in the public sector between 2008 and to date in 2014. [36307/14]
View answer90. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the total number of workers employed in the public sector between 2008 and to date in 2014. [36308/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 89 and 90 together.
Information on the number of public servants is collected and collated on a quarterly basis. The total number employed in the Public Service from end 2008 to date, expressed in terms of whole-time equivalents (WTEs) is set out below. This information and further data is freely available on my Department's Databank website
(http://databank.per.gov.ie/).
|
- |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2013 |
2012 |
2014 |
|
- |
Q4 |
Q4 |
Q4 |
Q4 |
Q4 |
Q4 |
Q2 |
|
Numbers Employed |
320,387 |
310,747 |
305,967 |
297,327 |
290,862 |
288,217 |
288,472 |
91. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide, in tabular form, the Government's total annual current expenditure budget between 2008 and to date in 2014. [36309/14]
View answer92. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide, in tabular form, the Government's total annual current capital budget between 2008 and to date in 2014. [36310/14]
View answer93. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide, in tabular form, the annual reduction to the capital expenditure budget between 2008 and to date in 2014. [36311/14]
View answer94. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide, in tabular form, the annual reduction to the current expenditure budget between 2008 and to date in 2014. [36312/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 91 to 94, inclusive, together.
The voted current and capital expenditure outturn figures for the period 2008 to 2013, and estimated expenditure figures for 2014 as published in the Revised Estimates Volume 2014, along with the year-on-year variances are set out in the table below. Also included in respect of 2014 is the year to date expenditure to the end of August 2014, as reported with the end August Exchequer returns. The Deputy may be interested to know that my Department publishes a comprehensive set of data on voted expenditure which is available at http://databank.per.gov.ie.
|
- |
2008 €m |
2009 €m |
2010 €m |
2011 €m |
2012 €m |
2013 €m |
2014 €m |
Expenditure to Date in 2014 €m |
|
Gross Current Expenditure |
53,384 |
55,719 |
54,179 |
52,847 |
52,149 |
51,078 |
49,648 |
33,099 |
|
Year-on-year variation |
- |
2,335 |
-1,540 |
-1,332 |
-698 |
-1,071 |
-1,430 |
N/A |
|
Gross Capital Expenditure |
9,011 |
7,333 |
6,385 |
4,515 |
3,809 |
3,287 |
3,339 |
1,533 |
|
Year-on-year variation |
- |
-1,678 |
-948 |
-1,870 |
-706 |
-522 |
52 |
N/A |
