Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 5:

In page 11, line 6, after “section 19” to insert “or 32”.

Section 4 provides for an exemption from income tax for the Covid-related layoff payment, which is a payment to employees who were made redundant and who lost the opportunity to accrue reckonable service due to layoffs caused by the public health restrictions during the period 13 March 2020 to 31 January 2022. This payment is intended to plug the gap in the statutory redundancy payment. As statutory redundancy payments are exempt from income tax under section 203 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, it is appropriate that the Covid-related layoff payment is also exempt. Section 4 also removes some obsolete references from section 203 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 to tidy up the legislation. However, the draft provision, as set out in the Bill, was drawn too tightly and, as such, inadvertently narrowed the scope of the income tax exemption. The amendment addresses the matter.