asked the Minister for Finance if he will give the actual amount collected in 1987 from various professions by means of the withholding tax on professional fees in the form of his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 38 of 12 May 1987; and the extent to which the amounts collected vary from the yields estimated at that time from each profession.
Written Answers. - Withholding Tax.
87.
It is not possible to give a breakdown of the 1987 yield from the withholding tax on professional fees on precisely the same basis as the estimates given in the reply to the parliamentary question of 12 May 1987. The estimates in the reply of 12 May 1987 of yield from payments for legal services and payments arising from the public capital programme were derived from the expected global public authority expenditure on these items. To determine the amount of tax paid under these and other headings in respect of each professional category would require an individual examination of all the relevant returns furnished in 1987 by accountable persons. Such an examination could be carried out only at disproportionate cost.
The yield in 1987 from the deduction at source system was £20.1 million which compares with the budget estimate of £25 million. The yield is broken down as follows:
|
1987 yield |
Variation with the May 1987 estimates |
|
|
£ million |
£ million |
|
|
Payments by |
||
|
General Medical Services (Payments) Board |
7.483 |
– 0.217 |
|
Department of Agriculture |
2.753 |
– 0.247 |
|
Department of Social Welfare |
2.384 |
– 0.816 |
|
AnCO |
1.428 |
– 0.172 |
|
Other |
6.053 |
– 3.447 |
|
Total |
20.101 |
– 4.899 |
The Deputy may wish to note that some tax in respect of the accounting month ending 5 December 1987 was remitted by accountable persons in January 1988. The yield from the withholding tax for all accounting months in 1987 was £22.06 million as of 15 January 1988.