Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2017
169. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Finance the number of persons who paid the domicile levy who were tax exiles; his views on whether this levy ensures that tax exiles pay a fair proportion of tax here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34154/17]
View answerThe Domicile Levy was introduced in the Finance Act 2010 to ensure that wealthy individuals make a contribution to the State during a time of economic and fiscal difficulty. It applies to Irish domiciled individuals, wherever they are resident, who:
have a world-wide income greater than €1 million
own Irish property greater than €5 million; and
pay €200,000 or less in Irish income tax.
Irish tax residence is not a requirement for the Levy to apply.
The amount of the levy is €200,000 and is payable annually where these conditions are met.
The Domicile Levy is payable on or before 31 October in the year following the valuation date on a self-assessment basis. For example, the due date in respect of 2015 was 31 October 2016. The valuation date is 31 December each year. The legislation providing for the Domicile Levy does not require an individual to confirm a place of residence on the return made to Revenue.
For the tax years 2010 and 2011, it was a requirement that the person liable be both an Irish citizen and Irish domiciled. The requirement to be an Irish citizen was removed for the tax year 2012 and later years.
The purpose of the Levy is to ensure that Irish-domiciled individuals who meet certain criteria make a contribution to the Exchequer, irrespective of where they are resident for tax purposes.
Where the Levy applies to an individual for a tax year, he or she is entitled to credit any Irish income tax paid for that year against the amount of the Levy.
The following table sets out the number of persons who have filed Domicile Levy returns and the amount collected since commencement. The table excludes 2016, which is not due until 31 October 2017.
|
Levy Year |
No of Persons |
Amount Collected (€m) |
|
2010 |
32 |
€3.43 |
|
2011 |
33 |
€3.69 |
|
2012 |
24 |
€2.44 |
|
2013 |
20 |
€1.90 |
|
2014 |
13 |
€2.02 |
|
2015 |
13 |
€2.30 |
