Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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287. To ask the Minister for Finance if applicants and or employers who were initially approved to avail of the temporary wage subsidy scheme for domestic employees and or childminders and who were subsequently refused eligibility can appeal the decision to pay the liability issued to them by the Revenue Commissioners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46182/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) was provided for in section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (COVID-19) Act 2020. The scheme operated from 26 March 2020 to 31 August 2020 and was replaced by the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) from 1 September 2020. The TWSS was introduced as an emergency measure, providing vital financial support to employers and employees that were severely impacted by the pandemic.

The TWSS operated on a self-assessment basis with the onus on applicants to satisfy themselves that they fully met the eligibility criteria for the scheme before making a claim. To assist employers in determining their eligibility, Revenue published extensive guidance, which clearly set out the qualifying conditions. Revenue also deployed very significant resources to a TWSS Helpline to answer queries by potential TWSS claimants.

The scheme was not intended as a support to domestic employers nor was it ever implied that it applied to them. The employment of domestic staff by a householder is not a business activity. A relevant business in the context of the TWSS generally included manufacturing, buying, selling, or supplying goods or services with a view to making a profit, none of which can be associated with employing domestic staff. It was also not possible for a domestic employer to meet the key criteria of a 25% reduction in turnover in Q2 of 2020 as there is no turnover associated with engaging a domestic employee.

I am advised by Revenue that a small number of employers of domestic staff incorrectly claimed TWSS in respect of domestic staff, the majority of which have since repaid the amounts owed in full. Where these domestic employers did not repay the subsidies owed, Revenue issued assessments for the amounts due as provided for in the legislation. The amounts owed were classified as ‘relevant tax’ and the Notice of Assessment advised the persons concerned of their statutory right to appeal the assessment to the independent Tax Appeals Commission (TAC). Full details of the procedures for making an appeal against any Revenue assessment, including in respect of late appeals, are available on the TAC website at www.taxappeals.ie.