Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 April 2015
60. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider an exemption from deposit interest retention tax for deposit holders with low aggregate savings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17019/15]
View answer61. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance the total amount generated per annum through deposit interest retention tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17020/15]
View answer62. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance the total amount generated per annum through deposit interest retention tax from deposit holders with aggregate savings of less than €50,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17021/15]
View answer63. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance the total amount generated per annum through deposit interest retention tax from deposit holders with aggregate savings of less than €100,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17022/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 60 to 63, inclusive, together.
Regarding Question No. 60 (7019-15), under Section 257 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 all deposit takers are obliged to deduct Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) from payments of interest made to an account unless the account qualifies as an exempt account.
Exemptions from DIRT on income grounds currently apply in the following circumstances -
Aged 65 or older:
An account held by an individual or his or her spouse or civil partner is exempt from DIRT where:
- the individual or his or her spouse or civil partner is aged 65 or older, and
- his or her total income in a year (including interest earned) is below the annual exemption limit.
The annual exemption limits for 2015 are €18,000 in the case of a single person and €36,000 in the case of a married couple or civil partnership.
Permanently Incapacitated Individuals
An account held by an individual or his or her spouse or civil partner is exempt from DIRT where they are:
- permanently incapacitated by reason of physical or mental infirmity from maintaining himself or herself and
- not liable to pay income tax because of the level of his or her income.
While all tax policies are continually open to review, it is not customary for the Minister for Finance to comment in advance on issues that are appropriate for consideration in the context of the Budget.
A number of State Savings Products offered by the National Treasury Management Agency through An Post are tax free, subject to certain conditions.
In relation to Question No. 61 (17020-15), I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the amount of Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) collected is available under the "Receipts" heading in the "Revenue Net Receipts by Taxhead on an annual basis" table on the Revenue's Statistics webpage: http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/index.html.
In relation to Questions Nos. 63 and 64 (17021-15 and 17022-15), I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that DIRT on interest bearing deposits is declared and paid on a four-times yearly basis by financial institutions. The total value of DIRT due and paid is reported to Revenue at institutional level. Detailed figures are not required in these returns to identify the numbers of accounts on which DIRT was paid, the amount of interest earned or DIRT payment per account or the tax forgone resulting from DIRT exemptions. The breakdown the Deputy has sought is not therefore available.
It may be of interest to the Deputy that separately, as provided for in Section 891B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, certain financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions, are required to make automatic annual returns at account level electronically to Revenue. The primary purpose of this Section is to provide information for use in risk analysis by Revenue and therefore the requirement to report interest focuses on account holders in receipt of larger payments.
The information under Section 891B was provided only where the total payment of interest is greater than €635 in a year, regardless of deduction of DIRT. However, under statutory instrument (S.I. No. 56 of 2015), signed on February 15th 2015, the annual reporting threshold was reduced from €635 to €300 and applies to returns in respect of the year 2014. The information under Section 861B is also required in all instances of a first interest payment, irrespective of threshold, for accounts opened on or after 1 January 2008.
However, I am also advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the information provided under the Section 891B regulations does not include information on the amounts of deposits or linking deposits with DIRT amounts. It is also important to note the information received under Section 891B is not limited to individuals but also includes interest payments on accounts held by corporations and other entities.
