Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:184. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Finance the amount of tax that is forgone due to tax breaks for private schooling. [36328/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 26 July 2017
Ceisteanna (184, 185)
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:185. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Finance the amount the State would save if it only allowed tax breaks for private schooling at the 20% marginal rate. [36329/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 184 and 185 together.
The schemes relevant to the Deputy’s questions are the Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) (employees who qualify for SARP may receive tax relief on certain costs associated with the education of their children in the State) and the Charitable Donations to Approved Bodies scheme.
It should be noted that, under SARP, only school fees of up to €5,000 per annum for each child of the relevant employee or for each child of his or her spouse or civil partner are eligible for tax relief. I am advised by Revenue that the following table sets out the total value claimed annually, and the number of eligible claimants, in respect of tuition fees for 2012, 2013 and 2014, the latest year for which data are available.
|
Year |
Claimants |
Total Tuition Claimed €* |
|
2012** |
- |
34,000 |
|
2013 |
18 |
169,000 |
|
2014 |
35 |
571,000 |
*It should be noted that these figures are the total amount of tuition fees in respect of which claims were made and not the amount of tuition fees that qualified for SARP. The amount of tuition fees which qualified for SARP relief is not readily available.
**Where there are only small numbers of cases in a category, figures are not provided to protect confidential taxpayer information.
Due to the nature of the SARP employer returns for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, there are no statistics available to estimate a net cost to the Exchequer for claims involving tuition fees. I am further advised by Revenue that as it not possible to estimate a net cost to the exchequer for claims involving tuition fees it is also not possible to estimate a saving associated with only allowing the relief at the 20% marginal rate, as described by the Deputy.
The Charitable Donation Scheme allows tax relief on qualifying donations made to eligible charities and approved bodies which include (but are not limited to) primary and secondary schools. I am informed by Revenue that it is not possible to separately identify the donations and refunds attributable to such schools. Accordingly, it is not possible to provide an estimate of the potential savings arising from the measure mentioned by the Deputy.