Vol. 529 No. 2
109 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the benefits and allowances which are allowed to employers towards the costs of employee participation in training courses; the costs to the Exchequer of such courses in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2741/01]
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that where an employer incurs an expense which is wholly and exclusively laid out for the purposes of the trade, a deduction for such an expense is allowable in computing the profits of the trade for tax purposes.
Thus, if in the course of the trade an employer incurs expenses in connection with the provision of training courses for staff, such expenses would, in general, be deductible for tax purposes. Expenditure both on in-house and external work related training courses for staff would be allowable. As such costs are a constituent element in arriving at the profits of the business no specific record of such expenditure is maintained by Revenue and, therefore, there is no basis on which to provide an estimate of the cost to the Exchequer in terms of the amount of tax relief allowed.
