Flat-rate expenses decision deferred for year
A decision on whether to reform the so-called flat-rate expenses regime for a wide range of workers, including bus drivers, bricklayers, cooks, and nurses, has been deferred by Revenue.
The review was started 18 months ago and has created something of a political storm, giving rise to Dáil questions and back-and-forth correspondence between Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Revenue chairman Niall Cody.
The Revenue said there were “inconsistencies” in the way the self-employed and employees are treated under the regime.
But revising the tax reliefs by which groups of workers are automatically granted allowances to cover expenses of doing their work would have hit pay packets, senior accountants had warned.
Revenue has now decided to defer implementing any reforms until after the Government’s Tax Strategy Group (TSG) decides on the tax expenses.
In his latest reply to Mr Donohoe, Mr Cody said that any changes have been put off for over a year.
“Revenue has decided to defer implementation of any planned changes to the FRE regime until January 1, 2021, pending the outcome of the review by the TSG of the issues concerned and subsequent further legislative considerations, if any,” he wrote.
