Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
365. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide an update on the tax liabilities issued to workers whose employer wrongly availed of the temporary wage subsidy scheme; the number of firms and workers affected, respectively; the total tax repayment by workers in such circumstances and the average tax liability issued per worker; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42726/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by Revenue that the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), which operated from March to August 2020 involved the payment of subsidies totalling €2.8bn to over 67,000 employers to support the continued employment of over 689,000 employees.
I am further advised that all subsidy amounts paid by employers to employees were liable to income tax irrespective of the whether an employer was eligible under the scheme or not. Revenue conducted an extensive compliance campaign to ensure that employers claiming subsidies under the scheme were properly eligible in accordance with the qualifying conditions for the scheme. This campaign identified a generally high level of compliance with the relevant conditions although some 2.8% of employers (1,889) were found to be ineligible for some or all of the periods for which they claimed subsidies leading to the recovery of subsidies amounting to over €34m.
Where Revenue recouped ineligible subsidies from employers it was then a matter for employers as to whether to seek to recover these sums from their employees. Any such recovery would have been treated as a reduction in emoluments paid to the employees with a consequent reduction in income tax liability. There was no requirement for employers to report any such recovery from employees to Revenue and therefore Revenue does not have the necessary data to provide answers to the specific questions put by the Deputy.
