I propose to take Questions Nos. 60 to 63, inclusive, and 65 to 67, inclusive, together.
I am advised by Revenue that information in respect of the annual tax cost of the research and development tax credit for years up to 2015, the latest year available, is at the following link
www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/tax-expenditures/costs-tax-expenditures.pdf.
Information in respect of research and development tax credit from corporation tax returns for the tax year 2016 is not yet available. Additionally, the Deputy may be interested in a recent analysis of the credit which is accessible at
http://igees.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/R-and-D-Credit-Evaluation-2016.pdf.
The information requested by the Deputy in respect of refundable research and development tax credits is available from corporation tax returns filed for the years 2009 to 2015 and is as shown in the following table. Because of the Revenue Commissioners' obligation to observe confidentiality in relation to the taxation affairs of taxpayers, a figure for the highest refund has not been provided.
Year
|
Number of companies with refundable research and development tax credits
|
Refundable research and development tax credits €m
|
Average Refund €
|
2009
|
379
|
32.5
|
85,882
|
2010
|
713
|
65.0
|
91,164
|
2011
|
920
|
106.3
|
115,543
|
2012
|
1,067
|
136.5
|
127,929
|
2013
|
1,092
|
235.5
|
215,659
|
2014
|
1,067
|
325.8
|
305,342
|
2015
|
1,027
|
358.9
|
349,464
|
It is not possible to accurately estimate the yield from abolishing the refundable credits aspect of the research and development tax credit as information in respect of current research and development expenditure and claims is not available However, on the basis of claims from the 2015 tax returns, the full year gain from the proposal could be in the region of €300m.
Information is not available in respect of the current outstanding liability from refundable payable research and development credits as that would require analysis of the 2017 corporation tax returns. However, from information available on the 2015 corporation tax returns, the estimated outstanding liability in respect of research and development tax credits at that time for use in later accounting periods was in the region of €330 million.
Information in respect of relief for key employees engaged in research and development activities is available on the income tax returns for the years 2013 to 2015. Tax returns for later years are not yet available. The number of individuals claiming the relief for the years 2013 and 2015 is less than 10 with a cost in each year of less than €0.05 million. For 2014 there were 25 individuals with claims for the credit of less than €0.1 million and an average claim of €2,721. Again the highest claim cannot be provided for the reasons outlined earlier.