Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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159. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention or the attention of the Revenue Commissioners has been drawn to instances in which persons in the construction sector are required to complete paperwork (details supplied) in order to secure work; if he will engage with the Revenue Commissioners in respect of same and seek their views and or actions they will take arising from the information contained; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35818/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Since 2012 all Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT) compliance, filings and payments, is conducted online using the Revenue Online Service (ROS).

An important feature of the online RCT system is the submission of contract notifications to Revenue. These contract notifications provide Revenue with information regarding the contract between the principal and the subcontractor. Prior to the principal submitting a contract notification to Revenue, the principal is obliged to seek and retain proof of identity from the subcontractor. The contract notification must include the subcontractor’s name and tax reference number or where the tax reference number is not known, the subcontractor’s contact information, including the subcontractor’s address, phone number and email address. The contract notification also requires information regarding the contractual relationship between the principal and the subcontractor, to ensure that it is not one of employer-employee. Details in relation to the contract itself must also be provided, including the sector involved, nature of work, site identification number, start date and end date and the value of the contract.

Details supplied by principals regarding subcontractors enables Revenue to monitor that subcontractors are registered with Revenue and are complying with their tax obligations.

Revenue has advised that the introduction of the online RCT system in 2012 has reduced the administrative burden, for both principals and subcontractors, associated with RCT. This was facilitated by the online system tailoring information requests based on the circumstances of each contract. The electronic system has reduced tax fraud in the sectors that come within RCT and has also increased the tax compliance of subcontractors.

I know the Deputy has been interested in the employment/self-employment status of workers in the construction sector and there is an onus on principal contractors to ensure the status of sub-contractors when engaging them. While the documentation provided by the Deputy is not prescribed by Revenue, some of the information is required to comply with the online RCT system. The balance of the information may be relevant to Health and Safety and contractual details.