The following table provides details of expenditure by my Department on subsistence payments to staff and on taxi costs from 2011 to date in 2014.
|
Year
|
Subsistence
|
Taxi
|
|
2011
|
€27,487.01
|
€41,174.93
|
|
2012
|
€38,803.34
|
€30,273.37
|
|
2013
|
€46,802.27*
|
€28,609.89
|
|
2014 (Jan - June 13th)
|
€19,325.62
|
€9,144.96
|
* Note: this includes impact of EU Presidency 2013
My Department has not been audited for tax compliance. However, in March this year following a review by my Department an unprompted voluntary disclosure was made to the Revenue Commissioners which included a liability for benefit in kind in relation to use of taxis to and from home of €24, 506, including penalties and interest. This reflected a long-standing practice where staff are sometimes required to work outside normal office hours in order to carry out their official duties, in most cases due to Oireachtas sittings. Revenue guidelines require that benefit in kind is due on the costs of taxis from home to headquarters and vice versa. My Department has put in place revised arrangements to ensure compliance with Revenue Guidelines in respect of benefit in kind on taxi journeys to and from home.
