Up to 7,000 employers may have to pay back all their Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) payments for failing to comply with Revenue checks.
early 900 of those businesses have made no effort to meet reporting obligations and have until only May 17 to submit payslips and supporting documents to Revenue before officials recoup the money.
Revenue issued final notice letters to 892 TWSS recipients this week demanding they prove they were eligible for the scheme last year and that the State support they got was spent on employee wages.
The letter threatens a cascade of financial consequences for firms that fail to comply, including backdated interest payments on the outstanding amount, withholding of tax clearance and exclusion from other Covid support schemes administered by Revenue.
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“Our records indicate that you have so far failed to provide the information requested,” the letter states. “Unless you rectify the position by 17 May 2021, the entire funds received by you under the TWSS will be deemed a ‘relevant tax’ ... and become repayable from the date paid.”
A larger group of approximately 6,000 employers who could owe a potential €77m has until the end of June to submit similar paperwork as part of a separate TWSS payment reconciliation process.
These businesses either have not engaged with the Revenue or have not provided documentation to determine whether they need to refund overpayments.
Revenue is writing to the group this month to warn that they are also at risk of losing their entire TWSS claim if they fail to file the required proof of payment in time.
As of March 22, 90pc of the 66,500 companies that received a total of €2.9bn TWSS payments had filed returns. Slightly more than half wound up owing a combined €224m to the Revenue, of which €90m had been paid, while 3pc were owed €1.4m. A further 41pc had no balance payable.
Most of the overpayments these employers received related to the six-week ‘transitional phase’ of the TWSS, when the Government paid a flat €410 per worker regardless of previous wages.
The firms have until June 30 to accept the calculations. Those that do can access Revenue’s debt warehousing scheme, which offers one year of interest-free tax deferment and three years at low interest before repayment.
So far 20,000 firms have accepted thecalculations for reconciliation payments.
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