Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour)
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This is not taxable as rent allowance. It is paid as an amount based on rent to compensate people because they incur additional expenditure by living abroad. It is not simply to cover rent but additional expenditure. I do not own a property, for example. If I was sent to Berlin for three years, I would not keep my home but rather let the lease run out and move to Berlin. If I got a rent payment, I would not be compensated but rather rewarded. The basis of the taxation code - where allowances can be given without being taxed - is that these payments are compensatory. Therefore, it is very much within Mr. Cooney's remit to be worried about whether people are making a profit if the payments are meant to be compensatory.