Burton Seeks Finance Bill Amendments
February 24, 2010
Deputy Joan Burton has tabled a total of 19 amendments to the 2010 Finance Bill, the Committee Stage of which is taking place in the Dáil this week.
In particular, Deputy Burton has proposed the prohibition of company’s making political donations from availing of tax reliefs introduced to facilitate the International Financial Services sector.
She has also called for the preparation, within one month of the Bill’s passage, of a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis for each of the tax reliefs contained within it.
Deputy Burton said: “This Finance Bill contains a whole suite of un-costed incentives crafted solely for the benefit of firms operating in the IFSC. We need to know what cost, if any, these will impose on taxpayers. We also need to be sure that tax incentives are never introduced at the behest of political donors.
“In the past, tax reliefs have been introduced without any thought given to their cost in terms of tax revenue forgone, never mind their broader economic implications. We have learned at the great cost that this is a recipe for disaster.
“Property based tax reliefs for developers cost taxpayers’ €435m in 2007, the last year for which the Department of Finance is able to calculate the cost. These reliefs were often slipped into Finance Bills at the last minute, presumably arising from intense lobbying by property developers.
“The actual cost of these property reliefs goes far beyond tax revenue forgone. These reliefs helped inflate the property bubble which has burst with devastating effects to the economy.
“All tax measures and incentives should be subject to rigorous cost-benefit and economic analysis. This should be happening as a matter of course for Finance Bills and should ideally happen before the legislation is voted on.”
In particular, Deputy Burton has proposed the prohibition of company’s making political donations from availing of tax reliefs introduced to facilitate the International Financial Services sector.
She has also called for the preparation, within one month of the Bill’s passage, of a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis for each of the tax reliefs contained within it.
Deputy Burton said: “This Finance Bill contains a whole suite of un-costed incentives crafted solely for the benefit of firms operating in the IFSC. We need to know what cost, if any, these will impose on taxpayers. We also need to be sure that tax incentives are never introduced at the behest of political donors.
“In the past, tax reliefs have been introduced without any thought given to their cost in terms of tax revenue forgone, never mind their broader economic implications. We have learned at the great cost that this is a recipe for disaster.
“Property based tax reliefs for developers cost taxpayers’ €435m in 2007, the last year for which the Department of Finance is able to calculate the cost. These reliefs were often slipped into Finance Bills at the last minute, presumably arising from intense lobbying by property developers.
“The actual cost of these property reliefs goes far beyond tax revenue forgone. These reliefs helped inflate the property bubble which has burst with devastating effects to the economy.
“All tax measures and incentives should be subject to rigorous cost-benefit and economic analysis. This should be happening as a matter of course for Finance Bills and should ideally happen before the legislation is voted on.”