asked the Minister for Finance if he has any plans to exclude payment of PAYE for people who take part in social employment schemes who were in receipt of unemployment assistance and who would not be taxable.
Written Answers. - Social Employment Schemes.
45.
Married participants with no other earnings in the tax year do not pay tax on earnings under the social employment scheme. In many cases single participants do not pay tax either because the participant's income is less than his accumulated personal allowances. In cases where tax is deducted, the participant will usually be entitled to claim a repayment at four-weekly intervals as long as he remains unemployed, up to the end of the tax year. I have no plans to treat social employment scheme payments differently from payments made to employees on comparable incomes in relation to the operation of PAYE.