Written Answers Nos. 327-343
327. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the projected yield from abolishing relief under section 604A; the cost to date to the Exchequer annually of this relief; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39876/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra338. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated yield from abolishing the primary private residence relief from capital gains tax and from capping the primary private residence relief from capital gains tax at €1 million; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39892/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra339. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated yield from abolishing entrepreneurs relief as provided for under section 597AA of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39893/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra340. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated yield from abolishing the CGT retirement relief and from reducing the limit that currently applies to the relief on disposals or transfers to children or certain other close relations if made after the age of 66 from €3 million to €1 million; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39894/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra341. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated yield from CGT retirement relief from applying a limit of €3 million or €1 million, respectively, to disposals or transfers to children or certain other close relations between the ages of 55 and 66; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39895/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra342. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated yield from abolishing CGT relief that is given to property acquired between 7 December 2011 and 31 December 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39896/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 327 and 338 to 342, inclusive, together.
In relation to Questions No 327 and 342, the estimated cost of Section 604A relief for the latest years is available at link www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/tax-expenditures/relief-on-disposal-of-certain-land-or-buildings.pdf.
In relation to Question No 339, the estimated cost of Entrepreneur relief for the latest years is available at link: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/tax-expenditures/entrepreneur-relief-statistics.pdf.
In relation to Questions No 340, 341 and 338, the consideration amounts returned in respect of associated claims for retirement relief or disposals of Principal Private Residences are published at link: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/income-distributors/summary-of-capital-gains-tax-returns.pdf.
The yield from the abolition of these reliefs would depend on future disposals of the relevant assets and any behavioural change of those impacted. However, in general terms, the current cost of the relief (indicated in sources noted above) could be indicative of the possible yield from abolition.
328. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the projected yield from every €1 per tonne increase in the carbon tax; the estimated yield if there were a €10 increase in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39877/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by Revenue that the ‘Ready Reckoner’, which is published at link: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/ready-reckoner.pdf, shows on page 23, the estimated yield from possible changes to carbon tax.
329. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the number of persons who availed of the cycle to work scheme in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021; the cost of the scheme in each of the years; the number of persons who accessed the maximum amount of tax relief in each of those years; the average tax relief in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39878/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra330. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated savings to the Exchequer by decreasing the current tax relief on bike to work schemes to €500; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39879/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 329 and 330 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, the cycle to work scheme operates on a self-administration basis. Relief is automatically available provided the employer is satisfied that the conditions of its particular scheme meet the requirements of the legislation. There is no notification procedure for employers involved. This approach was taken with the deliberate intention of keeping the scheme simple and reducing administration on the part of employers. Accordingly, there are no records available on the number of people availing of the scheme.
Tax expenditure reports prepared by my Department have estimated the full year's cost at €4 million covering an estimated 20,000 employees but have been clear that these figures were estimates as separate returns are not required. This gives an estimated average tax relief of €200 per employee.
An estimated additional tax expenditure of €0.5m in 2020 and €1.5m in 2021 is expected to arise on foot of the changes made to the scheme by Section 9 of the Financial Provision (Covid-19) (No.2) Act 2020. This increased the allowable expenditure from €1,000 to €1,500 in respect of e-bikes and €1,250 in respect of bicycles and allowed the purchase of a new bicycle every four years instead of five.
Reducing the threshold to €500 for e-bikes and bicycles could be expected to reduce the cost of the scheme per employee and could also lead to reduced uptake. A series of questions asked of Departments regarding the cycle to work scheme in June 2020 revealed an average value of bicycles of €870 purchased by civil servants. While this is not necessarily representative, it could indicate that the full threshold is not being used. Taking all factors into consideration, an estimated saving of 50% on the full year cost prior to the 2020 changes would seem reasonable.
331. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the tax reliefs exempted from the high-income individual restriction; the estimated additional yield if those reliefs were not exempted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39880/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by Revenue that the list and estimated cost of the relevant reliefs that are subject to the High-Income Individuals’ Restriction (HIIR) for 2018 (the latest year for which data are available) can be found in the High Income Individuals’ Restriction Report which is available on the Revenue website.
As stated on page 6 of that report, normal business-related expenses, deductions for capital allowances on plant and machinery, business-related trading losses and losses from a rental activity that do not arise from the use of specified reliefs are not restricted. In addition, personal tax credits are not affected by the restriction.
I am advised by Revenue that it is not possible to assess the implications of the extension of the restriction to other reliefs, as some reliefs may not be fully reflected in tax returns filed by the relevant individuals. Also, the purpose of the HIIR is to limit certain specified reliefs so that the relevant cohort of high income taxpayers is paying a minimum effective rate of tax. The HIIR analysis published by Revenue indicates that this outcome is already being achieved.
332. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated yield to the Exchequer from reducing pension relief to the standard rate in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39881/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by Revenue that their most recent ‘Ready Reckoner’, which is available at: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/ready-reckoner.pdf, shows on page 10, the estimated yield from reducing the maximum tax relief available on pension contributions to the standard rate.
Based on these estimates, reducing pension relief to the standard rate of 20% and maintaining the current total earnings limit (i.e. the maximum amount of earnings that can be taking into account for the purposes of calculating tax relief) of €115,000 per year, the yield would be €423 million.
333. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated additional yield to the Exchequer from applying a higher rate of LPT of 0.25% or 0.2875% to properties valued over €750,001, from increasing the higher rate of LPT to 0.3% on the balance of properties valued over €1.05 million and 0.4% on the balance of properties valued over €1.75 million in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39885/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra334. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated additional yield to the Exchequer from applying a higher rate of LPT of 0.25% or 0.2875% to properties valued over €750,001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39886/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 333 and 334 together.
The valuation process for Local Property Tax (LPT) will require liable persons to self-assess the value of their residential properties as at 1 November 2021 in respect of the new ‘Valuation Period’ (2022 to 2025) and submit this value to Revenue.
It is important to note that Revenue does not value properties but accepts liable persons’ self-assessed valuations, subject to the usual compliance checks that may subsequently be carried out in relation to any self-assessed tax. Revenue is preparing extensive guidance that will be made available to property owners in advance of the issuing of tax-returns to assist them in self-assessing the value of their residential properties.
I am advised that Revenue will not be in a position to analyse the data and estimate the potential yield from differing LPT rate options until after the statutory tax-returns are filed and processed. While an overall estimated yield from the proposed changes to LPT has been prepared (projected to be €560m in 2022, before any adjustments by Local Authorities), until actual valuations are available from tax-returns it will not be possible to provide accurate or robust estimates of the impacts of varying rates across different valuation bands.
335. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated individual savings per relief and total savings to the Exchequer from applying only the standard rate of tax to all discretionary tax expenditures in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39887/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by Revenue that the estimated yields from standard rating discretionary tax reliefs (currently at the marginal rate) are set out in the following table. The estimates are based on data from 2018 tax returns, which is the latest year currently available. The estimates do not take account any possible behavioural change on the part of taxpayers as a consequence of such a change.
|
Reliefs and Expenditures |
Full Year Yield (€m) |
|
Allowance for Seafarers |
0.1 |
|
Covenants |
0.4 |
|
Dispositions such as Maintenance Payments |
4 |
|
Donations to Approved Sporting Bodies |
0.2 |
|
Employing a Carer |
3 |
|
Health Expenses (Nursing Homes) |
8 |
|
Employee Pension Contribution |
423 |
|
Rental Deduction for Leasing of Farm Land |
6 |
|
Relief for expenditure on significant buildings and gardens |
0.9 |
|
Stock Relief (General) (S666 Taxes Consolidation Act 1997) |
1 |
|
Stock Relief (for Young Trained Farmers) (S667B Taxes Consolidation Act 1997) |
0.4 |
|
Stock Relief (for Registered Farm Partnerships) (S667C Taxes Consolidation Act 1997) |
0.1 |
|
Permanent Health Benefit Premiums |
2 |
|
Foreign Earnings Deduction |
3 |
|
Start-up Relief for Entrepreneurs |
0.4 |
|
Donations to Charities and Approved Bodies |
10 |
|
Total |
462.5 |
336. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated savings to the Exchequer by abolishing the current tax-free lump sum that can be withdrawn from a pension pot upon retirement and by reducing the current tax-free lump sum that can be withdrawn from a pension pot upon retirement from €200,000 to €100,000 or €50,000 respectively in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39890/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by Revenue that there is no requirement to include data in tax returns in relation to tax free lump sums of less than €200,000 (the current life-time limit on tax-free retirement lump sums). Therefore, Revenue is not in a position to estimate the savings that might accrue to the Exchequer from the changes outlined by the Deputy.
337. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated yield to the Exchequer by reducing the standard fund threshold from €2 million to €1 million; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39891/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Standard Fund Threshold (SFT) is the maximum allowable pension fund on retirement for tax purposes, which was introduced in Finance Act 2006 to prevent over-funding of pensions through tax-relieved arrangements. The threshold was initially set at €5 million. It was subsequently reduced to €2.3 million with effect from 7 December 2010 and further reduced to €2 million with effect from 1 January 2014.
Information on the numbers and values of individual pension funds or on individual accrued benefits are not generally required to be supplied to Revenue by the administrators of pension schemes and personal pension arrangements. There is, therefore, no underlying data available to Revenue on which to base reliable estimates of the savings that would arise specifically from the change to the SFT indicated in the question.
343. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated yield from reducing the scale of agriculture and business CGT relief, respectively, from 90% to 50% of the taxable value of the relevant assets and capping the relief at €3 million. [39897/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra346. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the yield to the Exchequer from CGT for the previous three years; the estimated yield to the Exchequer from reducing the CAT class A threshold to €250,000, the class B threshold to €25,000, and reducing the class C threshold to €13,000 at a rate of 33%, 36% and 40%, respectively, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39900/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra373. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the estimated yield gained from an increase in the initial once-off 6% charge to 20% with respect to the discretionary trust tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39938/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 343, 346 and 373 together.
In relation to Question No. 346, it is assumed the Deputy is referring to Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) rather than Capital Gains Tax (CGT).
The CAT receipts by year are published on the Revenue website at link: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/receipts/receipts-taxhead.aspx. A breakdown of CAT receipts, including the yield from Discretionary Trust Tax is published at www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/receipts/cat-receipts.pdf.
The Revenue Ready Reckoner, which is available at link: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/ready-reckoner.pdf, shows on pages 15 to 17, the estimated yield from changes to CAT reliefs, thresholds and rates. The proposed increases can be estimated on a pro rata basis from the information in the published table.
The yield from Discretionary Trust Tax at the current rate is shown in the publication referenced above. With an assumption of no behavioural change, an estimated increase in the yield pro-rata to the increase in the rate from 6% to 20% could be calculated. However, this would be a sizeable increase in rate and the assumption of no change in behaviour is unlikely to be realistic. Therefore, there is no basis to provide an accurate estimate of this proposed change.
Regarding Question No. 343, the yield from capping Business and Agricultural Relief at €3 million is tentatively estimated at €45 million for Business Relief and €1 million for Agricultural Relief.
