I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 and 221 together.
Sections 76, 78, 207 and 208 of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997, provide for an exemption from certain taxes for bodies or trusts that are established solely for charitable purposes. Entitlement to the tax exemption is available to charities that meet the qualifying criteria regardless of whether they are in receipt of funding from the Health Services Executive (HSE) as provided for by Sections 38 and 39 of the 2004 Health Act.
The exemption applies to Income Tax, Corporation Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Capital Acquisitions Tax, Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT), Dividend Withholding Tax and Stamp Duties in certain circumstances. The relief does not extend to fiduciary taxes such as VAT or PAYE. A comprehensive list of the various tax reliefs and exemptions available to charitable bodies and details of how these can be applied for is available on the Revenue website at http://www.revenue.ie/en/business/charities.html.
In order to qualify for a charitable tax exemption an organisation must be registered with the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA) and must also satisfy Revenue that it has a proper legal structure, that it is constituted and operated exclusively for charitable purposes, and that it applies its income for charitable purposes. It must have a governing instrument which outlines the objectives of the organisation in precise terms that clearly demonstrate a recognised charitable purpose.
While Revenue is constrained by confidentiality in accordance with Section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act and cannot provide data on specific cases or provide any information that could inadvertently lead to the identification of individual cases, I am assured that charities are subject to the same level of compliance scrutiny as any other entity in respect of the taxes they are obliged to remit. The type of scrutiny involved could include various debt management interventions or a Revenue compliance intervention in accordance with the 'Code of Practice for Revenue Audit and other Compliance Interventions'. Additionally, charities that have a charitable tax exemption are subject to Revenue oversight to ensure they comply with the terms under which it was granted.
For the years 2007 to 2016 year to date, Revenue conducted almost 7,500 debt management interventions and in excess of 1,600 compliance interventions in respect of charities. Revenue also carried out almost 5,500 reviews of charities in respect of the charitable exemption and charitable donations schemes. It should be noted however that Revenue's role in these interventions is limited to examination of the tax compliance and charitable exemption risks of the entities concerned. Revenue has no role to play in regard to the overall regulation of charities, which is the remit of the Charities Regulator.
Where any underpayments of tax are identified the charity is required to immediately pay the outstanding amount, including any interest and penalties. The only exception in this regard would be where it requests and is granted a phased payment arrangement. The charity may also be published in the quarterly defaulters list in accordance with Section 1086 of the TCA depending on the nature and amount of any settlement reached with Revenue.
