Vol. 407 No. 2
33 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the action he proposes to take on the recommendation of the National Economic and Social Council report, Redistribution through State Social Expenditure in the Republic of Ireland 1973-1980, that there be a systematic regular analysis of the benefits of tax expenditures (tax reliefs) to households in conjunction with existing analysis that is being done of the benefits to households in direct public expenditure.
The expenditure analysis to which the Deputy refers was conducted by NESC on a consultancy basis, as part of their on-going work programme. As the report acknowledged, it would be difficult to attempt to collect data on tax expenditure in surveys such as the household budget survey. The benefits of tax expenditures and tax reliefs are, of course, kept under review by my Department, in conjunction with the Revenue Commissioners, as part of the ongoing development of tax policy. These reviews are taken into account in the formulation of the tax changes announced in the annual budget.
