Speech from Minister

Last week my colleague, the Minister for Finance, published the Medium-Term Fiscal Statement.  It sets out the contribution to our consolidation effort from taxation and current and capital spending.  Today, I set out the Government’s capital spending programme consistent with that framework.

Clearly we are now living in different economic times.  This report, by necessity, is about priorities.  We cannot afford to do all that we want to do.  It is fashionable in some quarters to suggest the emphasis ...

Value-Added Tax – Bakery Products and Food Supplements

The purpose of this eBrief is to clarify Revenue’s VAT treatment of Bakery Products and Food Supplements.

Bakery Products

The supply of bakery products such as cakes, biscuits, bagels and croissants, being flour or egg based bakery products, is liable to VAT at the reduced rate of 13.5% in accordance with paragraph 3(5) of Schedule 3 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act (VATCA) 2010, as amended.

The supply ...

Good morning everyone.

And thank you, David and Brendan, for your introductory remarks.  I was delighted to learn of the Association’s resurgence in recent years, a testament to all involved.

I am very happy to be here today and to share some thoughts with you. We should never underestimate the value of simply bringing people together to meet, talk to each other and to exchange ideas, especially during these difficult times.

Difficult times indeed, but there are underlying strengths of Ireland’s economy in ...

VAT and Medical Services

Professional Medical care services recognised by the Department of Health are exempt from VAT in accordance with Paragraphs 2 (3) and 2 (7) of Schedule 1 of the VAT Consolidation Act 2010.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ), which interprets the VAT Directive, decided in a number of cases that certain services provided by professional medical personnel which do not have the purpose of protecting, including maintaining or restoring a patients health, or diagnosing, treating or curing, illnesses, ...

Universal Social Charge Regulations 2011 (S.I. 658 of 2011)

The Revenue Commissioners, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 531AAB (inserted by section 3 of the Finance Act 2011 (No. 06 of 2011)) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39 of 1997), have made Regulations (PDF, 113KB), entitled as above on 16 December 2011.

Copies of the Regulations will be available from the Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, ...

Attachment of Wages/Salaries under S.1002 TCA 1997

The Finance Act 2011 extended the power of attachment to wages/salaries in the enforcement of debt due to Revenue.

UpdatedGuidelines (PDF, 1.53MB) for Attachment reflecting the Finance Act 2011 changes are published on the Revenue website at: Taxes & Duties – Tax & Duty Manuals Section 16 FOI Act – Collection – Enforcement – Guidelines for Attachment.

“Cross-border” workers and universal social charge (USC)

The rate at which an individual is charged to USC is determined by whether that individual is entitled to a full [1] medical card under Irish or EU [2] legislation. Individuals with such entitlement, who are aged under 70 years, are generally chargeable to USC at a maximum rate of 4%. In the case of an individual with income from self-employment that exceeds €100,000 in a particular tax year, the rate is ...

Older people’s tax credits and reliefs

Information

If you are aged 65 or over, you are liable to pay income tax in the normal way. However, the tax exemption limits are much higher for people aged 65 or over and there are some extra tax credits.

It is possible to get tax relief for covenants to people aged 65 and over.

In certain circumstances, you may be able ...

Tens of thousands of workers are due a refund for overpaying their PRSI.

The Department of Social Protection has confirmed that €10m has already been paid back to taxpayers, who have received an average refund of €400.

The overcharging is due to the way the health levy element of social insurance was applied in 2010.

Anyone earning less than €26,000 was not liable to pay the levy.

However, if a person earned more than €500 in a given week the levy was automatically deducted ...

The Bill, which will go through the Oireachtas in the coming weeks, gives effect to the following measures announced on Budget Day:

• The Bill makes provision for the changes to mortgage interest relief announced in Budget 2012 to implement the Programme for Government commitment. It provides for an increase to 30% in mortgage interest relief for first time buyers who took out their first mortgage in the period 2004-2008. The Bill will also make ...