Finance Minister Brian Cowen has announced plans for a new scheme to encourage those on lower incomes to transfer money from their SSIA accounts into pension funds.
He was giving details of the Finance Bill, which gives effect to measures announced in the Budget but also contains a number of new initiatives.
The Government has agreed to add €1 for every €3 transferred from SSIA accounts into a Personal Savings Retirement Account (PRSA), an additional voluntary contribution (AVC) or a retirement annuity scheme.
The bonus will be limited to €2,500, and the Government will also waive the exit tax paid on SSIA money transferred to pension accounts.
Minister Cowen said the scheme was limited to those on lower incomes, as those on the 42% tax rate already had 'significant pension incentives'.
Mr Cowen also gave details of plans to require financial institutions to automatically report all interest payments and other profit payments to Revenue.
The Department of Finance and Revenue are to consult the financial institutions before implementing this measure.
There will also be a surcharge of 10% on transactions which are found to be purely for the purpose of tax avoidance, though this will not apply when prior notice is given to Revenue.
Mr Cowen said this meant that those who were open about tax planning arrangements would not be surcharged.
The Finance Bill will also scrap a tax which allowed workers resident in Ireland but not domiciled in the country to pay less tax.
The Government believes it has been losing €100m a year because of the scheme. Some multinationals had criticised the move, which was announced in the Budget.
Under the scheme, individuals could leave some money offshore and were liable to Irish income tax only on income they left in the country.
There are also measures to boost the film industry, with 80% of investments in film production now eligible for tax relief, up from the existing levels of 55% and 66% to 80%.
The ceiling for spending on one film is being increased from €15m to €35m. These measures will need EU approval.
Mr Cowen says the bill removes all of those on the minimum wage from the tax net, and that it is a major milestone in promoting improved equality and opportunity for all in society.
The bill will be introduced in the Dáil next Tuesday.
