NOONAN AGREES TO LABOUR AMENDMENT ON FINANCE BILL

22 November 2016

Labour spokesperson on Finance Joan Burton TD has welcomed the action of the Minister for Finance to adopt her proposed amendment to the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) in the Finance Bill. The HRI was being extended for a further two years and Joan sought a change in the law to extend eligibility to Council tenants.

“At committee stage I proposed an amendment to the Home Renovation Incentive that would allow local authority tenants who carry out improvement works on their council home or flat to be eligible for the Home Renovation Incentive, once permission was provided by the Council.”

“To qualify for the Home Renovation Incentive as it stands, you must currently be an owner occupier or a landlord, meaning council tenants were blocked from accessing the scheme.”

“I am aware of several examples that have been raised with me where council tenants have carried out works like the installation of a new kitchen or bathroom, windows or replastering. It’s not hard for someone carrying out minor works to spend over €5,000 with the support of a credit union loan.”

“My amendment received cross party support at Committee stage a fortnight ago, and the Minister committed to examining the issue before report stage.”

“I welcome the confirmation in the published list of Report stage Amendments that Minister Noonan has brought a comprehensive amendment that would ensure council tenants can now access the scheme”

“Pending the agreement of the Dáil to the Minister’s amendment during the Report stage debate today, I will withdraw my own that would achieve the same objective.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

A total of 47,000 homes have been improved under the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) and approximately €1 billion worth of work has been carried out, involving 8,500 contractors. It came into operation in October 2013 with the aim of stimulating the legitimate tax compliant construction sector and assisting home owners to make enhancements to their properties. It currently applies to the owners of property only.

There is a minimum spend of €5,000 inclusive of 13.5% VAT, with a cap of €30,000. The Home Renovation Incentive is paid in the form of a tax credit at 13.5% of qualifying expenditure, which can be set against your income tax over 2 years. This effectively reduces the rate of VAT to zero on qualifying work, up to a value of €30,000.

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