Michael Ferris
Ceist:77 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Finance his views on whether it is equitable to tax unearned income at 20 per cent and earned income at 24 or 48 per cent. [5578/98]
Written Answers - Taxation of Unearned Income.
Unearned income is normally defined as income from non-employment sources. The main forms of unearned income are rental income, dividend income and interest income. Rental income will be taxed from 6 April next, at either 24 or 46 per cent, the same as earned income. Dividend income is normally taxable at these rates. Deposit interest income will normally be taxable at 24 per cent from 6 April next except for deposit interest income from special savings accounts which will be taxable at 20 per cent. Other interest income e.g. from Government securities, will normally be chargeable to income tax at either 24 per cent or 46 per cent. Capital gains are being taxed at 20 per cent, except for development land which remains at 40 per cent. I hope that this clarifies the situation for the Deputy.