Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 June 2016
83. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Finance the amount of value added tax the Revenue Commissioners has levied from the public making text donations to charities in each of the years 2013 to 2016 to date. [18050/16]
View answer84. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Finance why the Revenue Commissioners levies tax on text charity donations but not on other donations and refunds tax for donations over €250. [18051/16]
View answer85. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider changing the legislation by which the Revenue Commissioners levies tax from charitable donations made by text so that charities do not get penalised for using this mechanism for fundraising. [18052/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 83 to 85, inclusive, together.
I am advised by Revenue that charitable donations are outside the scope of VAT. This means that VAT does not apply to such donations. In the case of charitable donations made by text, where the full amount of the donation is passed over directly to the charity concerned, the entire amount is deemed outside the scope of VAT. In circumstances where a telecommunications provider charges a fee for their services, the fee is liable to VAT at the standard rate, currently 23%, while the monies that are transferred to the charity are outside the scope of VAT.
VAT returns do not require the yield from a particular product or activity to be identified and therefore it is not possible to provide details of VAT returned in respect of any fees charged by telecommunications providers for charitable donations.
The VAT treatment of charitable donations made by text message is set out in Revenue's eBrief 100/14 which is available at http://www.revenue.ie/en/practitioner/ebrief/archive/2014/no-1002014.html.
