Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 15:

In page 6, before section 8, but in Part 2, to insert the following new section:

10.—Section 2(1) of the Principal Act is amended in the definition of "sharebased remuneration" (inserted by section 13 of the Social Welfare Act 2011)—

(a) in paragraph (d), by substituting "section 510(2) of that Act," for "section 510(2) of that Act, and",

(b) in paragraph (e), by substituting "section 519A of that Act, and" for "section 519A of that Act,", and

(c) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (e):

"(f) in the case of emoluments (within the meaning of section 983 of the Act of 1997) received by an employee or director in the form of shares (including stock) in—

(i) the company in which the employee or director holds his or her office or employment, or

(ii) a company which has control (within the meaning of section 432 of the Act of 1997) of that company, the amount referred to in section 985A(3) of the Act of 1997,".".

The purpose of these amendments is to provide clarity on share-based remuneration arrangements on which employer PRSI is not chargeable. Share-based remuneration was brought within the charge of PRSI effective from 1 January 2011. This refers to shares in the individual's employing company or the company which controls it. In May 2011 the Minister for Finance announced the abolition of the employer PRSI element of the charge. The exemption of employer PRSI liability on share-based remuneration was generally provided for in the Social Welfare Act 2011, however, to ensure that the exemption from employer PRSI applies to all forms of relevant share arrangements the definition of share-based remuneration is being amended to provide a comprehensive list of the schemes affected. The amendments also provide for refund arrangements for PRSI which may have been incorrectly paid.

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