Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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117. To ask the Minister for Finance the cost in a full year if the small benefits exemption allowance was increased from €500 to €620. [34225/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Small Benefits Exemption provides that, in general, where an employer provides an employee/director with a small benefit (that is, a benefit with a value not exceeding €500, PAYE, USC and PRSI need not be applied to that benefit. This treatment does not apply to cash payments, which are taxable in full. No more than one such benefit given to an employee in a tax year will qualify for such treatment. Where a benefit exceeds €500 in value the full value of the benefit is to be subjected to PAYE, USC and PRSI.

The overall cost of the increase proposed by the Deputy is difficult to estimate. It would depend very much on the take-up, the amounts awarded by employers, the tax situation of the employees and how the vouchers are subsequently used. It should be noted  that Revenue does not maintain (nor is it required to maintain) any statistics on the measure in its current form.