There were significant amendments made to the Bill by the Minister for Finance at Committee Stage, not least in the area of tax avoidance arrangements, which saw the introduction of a mandatory disclosure requirement. At Report Stage, the main amendments concerned:

• Mid Shannon Tourism Infrastructure Scheme: The qualifying period is extended by two years, from 31 May 2013 to 31 May 2015, subject to a commencement order by the Minister for Finance.
• VAT for Local Authorities and Public Bodies: A recent ECJ case obliged Ireland to oblige its local authorities to be accountable persons but the Report Stage amendment ensures that only some services will be affected.
• VAT on Greenhouse Gas Emission allowances—these will be treated in certain circumstances under the reverse charge rules.

Usually when the Bill passes the Report Stage, for Constitutional reasons, that is it done and dusted as if it were an Act. However, the Minister signalled a further amendment at Committee Stage in the Seanad to provide for a review of tax expenditures in the Bill, as sought by the Opposition.

This review was to be fairly limited—as the Minister pointed out “The amendment in its expressed terms is limited to the preparation of a report on a cost-benefit analysis of ‘tax expenditures provided for by this Act’, setting out the costs of tax foregone and the benefits in terms of job creation or otherwise. It is worth noting, that it is ‘tax expenditures provided for by this Act’, not tax expenditures provided for more generally in previous financial legislation.”

The Bill as deemed to have been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas is available from the Oireachtas website at http://www.oireachtas.ie/view doc.asp?DocID=14035&&CatID=59