Finance Act, 1992

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Treatment for tax purposes of certain benefits payable under Social Welfare Acts.

15.—(1) This section applies to the following benefits under the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 , and every enactment which is to be construed together as one with that Act, that is to say—

(a) disability benefit,

(b) unemployment benefit,

(c) injury benefit which is comprised in occupational injuries benefit, and

(d) pay-related benefit.

(2) All amounts falling to be paid on foot of the benefits to which this section applies shall be deemed—

(a) to be profits or gains arising or accruing from an employment and, accordingly—

(i) tax under Schedule E shall be charged on every person, to whom any such benefit is payable, in respect of all amounts falling to be paid on foot of such benefits, and

(ii) the tax so chargeable shall be computed under section 110 (1) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1991 ) of the Income Tax Act, 1967 ,

and

(b) to be emoluments to which the provisions of Chapter IV of Part V of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , are applied by section 125 of that Act.

(3) (a) This section shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister for Finance either generally or with reference to any particular benefit or category of person in receipt of any particular benefit, and different days may be so fixed for different benefits or categories of persons in receipt of benefits.

(b) Where an order is proposed to be made under this subsection, a draft thereof shall be laid before Dáil Éireann, and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by Dáil Éireann.

(4) (a) The Revenue Commissioners may, in order to provide for the efficient collection and recovery of any tax due in respect of benefits to which this section applies, make regulations modifying the Income Tax (Employment) Regulations, 1960 ( S.I. No. 28 of 1960 ), in their application to those benefits, the employees in receipt of such benefits, the tax-free allowances appropriate to such employees, employers of such employees or certificates of tax-free allowances or tax deduction cards held by employers of such employees in respect of those employees.

(b) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), regulations under that paragraph may include provision for the reallocation by the Revenue Commissioners (without the issue of amended notices of determination of tax-free allowances, amended certificates of tax-free allowances or amended tax deduction cards) of the tax-free allowances appropriate to such employees between the said benefits and other emoluments receivable by them.

(c) Every regulation made under this subsection shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.