Pádraig O'Sullivan
Question:84. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance his plans to retain the 9% tourism VAT rate beyond 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3035/23]
View answerTuesday, 24 January 2023
Questions (84, 97, 102, 126, 137)
Brendan Griffin
Question:97. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if he will retain the 9% VAT rate for the tourism and hospitality sector; if his attention has been drawn to reports of the vital importance of this measure for counties such as Kerry, which has a proportionately higher reliance on the tourism and hospitality sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3045/23]
View answer
Richard Bruton
Question:102. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the criteria his Department intends to use in deciding whether temporary tax concessions should be extended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2755/23]
View answer
Peter Fitzpatrick
Question:126. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Finance if he will extend the 9% VAT reduction for the tourism and hospitality industry further than the current expiry date in March 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2931/23]
View answer
Christopher O'Sullivan
Question:137. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance if consideration can be given to the extension of the VAT rate of 9% for the tourism and hospitality sector beyond February 2023 due to the challenges this sector is currently facing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3024/23]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 84, 97, 102, 126 and 137 together.
The VAT rating of goods and services is subject to EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law must comply. In general, the Directive provides that all goods and services are liable to VAT at the standard rate unless they fall within Annex III of the Directive, in respect of which Member States may apply either one or two reduced rates of VAT. Ireland currently operates two reduced rates of VAT, 13.5% and 9%, as permitted by the Directive.
Currently, the 9% rate applies on a temporary basis to the hospitality and tourism sectors which includes the supply of hotel accommodation and the supply of meals in hotels (excluding alcohol and soft drinks) until 28 February 2023. The 9% rate was introduced in recognition of the fact that the tourism and hospitality sectors were among those most impacted by the public health restrictions put in place throughout the pandemic. Through no fault of their own, bars, hotels and restaurants had to close on multiple occasions in response to the public health crisis.
From 1 March 2023, these sectors are due to return to the 13.5% rate. The supply of alcohol and soft drinks remains unchanged at the standard rate of VAT (23%). As I have said on a number of occasions, the government will in the coming weeks examine the full suite of taxation and other measures that are due to expire at the end of February.
In making any decision the Government will balance the costs of the measures in question against their impact.