Peadar Tóibín
Question:325. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance his plans to extend the banking levy beyond 2021 and to replace the levy with a permanent charge on banks to repay bailout funds. [16579/21]
View answerWednesday, 31 March 2021
Questions (325)
Written answers
As the Deputy is aware, the Bank Levy was introduced for the three-year period 2014 to 2016 with the purpose of enabling the banking sector to contribute to economic recovery. The annual yield of the Bank Levy is €150 million.
In the Finance Act 2016 the Levy was extended until 2021. That extension had been subject to a review being undertaken of the methodology used to calculate the levy, which included a public consultation with stakeholders in June 2016. That stakeholder exercise was inconclusive in terms of getting external agreement on a possible replacement to the DIRT based methodology.
Ultimately the DIRT-based formula was retained but the then Minister for Finance took into account the suggestion that arose from the Public Consultation that the base year for calculating Levy liability should not be static, and announced in Budget 2017 the introduction of a rolling two-year series of base years.
In order to protect the annual 150 million yield based on the financial institutions DIRT liability, the rate payable has increased from 35% in 2014 to 308% for 2021.
The Bank Levy is due to cease in 2021 and as yet, I have made not made my decision as to whether the levy will cease or continue beyond 2021 or the format, if any, it may take.