Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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69. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of persons who have to date availed of the foreign earnings deduction; the countries where persons availing of the deduction have worked; the number of employers whose employees have availed of the deduction; the amount of tax foregone as a result of the tax relief granted; if he intends to add any further countries to the list of qualifying countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54557/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Section 12 of Finance Act 2012 provided for a limited tax deduction for individuals who temporarily carry out the duties of their office or employment in Brazil, Russia, India, China or South Africa. The provision applies as respects the years 2012, 2013 and 2014. The first year of the programme was 2012 and the relevant details of tax claims received to date from PAYE employees for that year are as follows:

Numbers of employees availing of the scheme: 25

Relevant Countries: China, India, Russia, South Africa and Brazil.

Number of employers associated with employees availing of the scheme: 21

Amount of tax forgone: €120,400 (rounded to nearest €100).

Details of further claims were also provided as follows in the Form 11 tax returns for 2012 filed under the self-assessment system in October/November of 2013:

Numbers of employees availing of the scheme: 51

Relevant Countries: China, India, Russia, South Africa and Brazil.

Number of employers associated with employees availing of the scheme: not available

Estimated amount of tax forgone: €455,000 (rounded to nearest €100), on the basis of an assumed tax rate of 41%.

The deduction was extended in Finance Act 2013 to include related travel to Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the 2013 & 2014 tax years. Any further extension of the deduction for work related travel to other countries would be a matter for consideration as part of the annual Budget and Finance Bill process.