Ivan Yates
Ceist:113 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Finance if he will clarify the contribution, if any, that the Trustee Savings Bank makes to the Exchequer, either in terms of a dividend through the bank levy or in any other way.
Written Answers. - TSB Bank.
TSB Bank is governed by trustees and operates under the Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1989. Given its trust nature a trustee savings bank does not pay dividends. Trustee savings banks are not subject to the bank levy because the levy is confined to banks licensed under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971. As a trust, a trustee savings bank is liable for capital gains tax and for income tax. However, certain categories of the income of a trustee savings bank are exempt from income tax under section 337 of the Income Tax Act, 1967. The scope of this exemption is such that trustee savings banks operating under existing rules would be unlikely to incur a liability to pay income tax. In the circumstances, I have made provision in the recently published 1993 Finance Bill to bring trustee savings banks within the scope of corporation tax on a phased basis. The tax affairs of any individual or organisation are a confidential matter and it is not the practice to disclose details of them.