asked the Minister for External Affairs if he is aware that, since the introduction of the new income-tax code in Britain (known as the "pay-as-you-earn income-tax"), considerable hardship has been inflicted on Irish migratory labourers because they are assessed under this code, and many of them have a large part of their money deducted from them; and, if so, if he will state what is the position of these workers in relation to the 1926 agreement entered into between the Government of the Irish Free State and the British Government; and if he will consider attaching to the permits of such migrants an explanatory form setting out their position with regard to income-tax.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - British Income-Tax Code and Irish Nationals.
I understand that, under the British Pay-as-You-Earn Income-Tax Scheme, which came into operation on the 6th April, 1944, employers in Great Britain are bound to deduct British income-tax from the wages of all workers who are in receipt of earnings exceeding the exemption limit, but that, generally, if an Irish worker is in Great Britain or the Six Counties for less than six months in a particular financial year, he is entitled, under the Residence Agreement of 1926, to claim repayment of the whole of the British income-tax deducted from his wages for that year.
The position in this regard is explained in a leaflet given by the British authorities to workers going to Great Britain for employment. It is not regarded as necessary, therefore, to incorporate the same information in the explanatory leaflets that we ourselves distribute when issuing and renewing Travel Permit Cards.