Dáil committee to seek higher tax for vulture funds
The request comes after media reports which showed that some vulture funds were using charity status to avoid paying tax, with one company paying just €250 off multimillion-euro revenues.
The matter was discussed at a private meeting of the cross-party committee of TDs, which is tasked with forming an opinion on the budgetary options, ahead of the budget in October.
At the meeting, it was agreed members would meet for at least two full days in early September to ensure it has a body of work completed in time for the budget.
It was during a discussion about budget options that Social Democrats TD Stephen Donnelly raised the issue of Section 110 status for vulture funds for the purpose of avoiding the payment of tax.
It was suggested guidance should be sought from Revenue to see what options are available to Government to bring such bodies more into the tax system and whether such a move could increase spending money available to the Government.
While Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said he believes the amount of additional monies available will be in the region of €1bn, the committee is seeking to see if that could be increased.
Committee chairman, John Paul Phelan of Fine Gael, set out to members that the committee will be limited in what it can achieve in time for this year’s budget, given it was only recently set up.
Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary said the meeting was dominated by attempts to clarify exactly how the committee will do its work.
It was also discussed whether this new committee will assume control for handling the crucial finance bill, which gives effect to new policy measures announced in the budget.
It was the source of some confusion, as the bill is currently handled by the Oireachtas finance committee.
