Aircraft-leasing industry pays out €52m in corporation tax

IRELAND’S multi-billion euro aircraft-leasing industry paid corporation tax of €52m last year.

Provisional figures provided by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan show that the total estimated tax paid last year by the industry totalled €128m. Some €95m was paid in PAYE/USC by the industry, with net Vat repayments of €19m.

The confirmation by Noonan follows a recent Central Bank study which showed industry revenues increased by €2.4bn from €9.4bn in 2014 to €11.8bn in 2015. Ireland is home to nine of the 10 largest aircraft-leasing firms in the world, including SMBC Aviation Capital, Pembroke Capital, Awas Capital, GECAS and Avolon.

There are more than 4,000 aircraft under Irish management here and together Irishbased lessors account for more than $120bn (€113.4bn) in aircraft assets.

The €52m is a 52pc increase on the €34m paid in corporation tax in 2014. In a written response to Fianna Fail’s Michael McGrath, Noonan confirmed that the corporation tax take over the past five years was €445m.

Key directors and executives of SMBC Aviation Capital, the Dublin-based aircraft-leasing business, received long-term benefits worth $18.9m in the year to the end of March last.

This brought total compensation for this group of employees to $28.9m, more than double the $12.4m they received in the previous financial year.

During the same five-year period, the tax receipts from the industry were hit by the State making net Vat repayments to aircraft leasing firms totalling €133m.