Finance Bill 2012 published

The Bill will go through the Oireachtas in the coming weeks.

“This Finance Bill is a further step towards economic recovery and regaining our fiscal autonomy,” said the Minister. “The achievement of these objectives will take time but we are making good progress in implementing our Programme for Government.”

The Minister said the Budget included a number of targeted supports for employment for both the FDI and the SME sectors and that the Bill provides additional details of the support for financial services flagged in December.  

“The objective is to take our very limited resources and apply them to areas where there is the best employment potential and returns for that investment of public money.”

He picked out a number of measures in the Bill for special mention.

For example, it introduces a new Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) designed to reduce the cost to employers of assigning skilled individuals in their companies from abroad to take up positions in Ireland. An exemption from income tax on 30pc of salary between €75,000 and €500,000 will be provided for employees who are assigned for a minimum of one year and a maximum of five years.

In addition, the Bill includes targeted enhancements to the R&D tax credit scheme to encourage high value-added sectors of the economy. Companies receiving the R&D credit will be permitted to use a portion of the credit to reward employees who have been directly involved in the creation or development of the R&D process.

The Bill also provides Revenue with a range of powers to deal with people and companies that do not pay the correct amounts of tax.

Also included is an increase in Mortgage Interest Relief (MIR) to 30pc for first-time buyers who purchased their first homes in the years 2004 to 2008 and an increase in the exemption threshold for Universal Social Charge from €4,004 to €10,036. And it imposes limits on the use of legacy property reliefs and abolishes certain tax avoidance schemes.