Revenue has urged employers who may want to use the new Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) to apply for tax clearance immediately.

The EWSS will replace the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) from 1 September. Unlike the TWSS, any business wishing to avail of it must have confirmation from Revenue that its tax affairs are in order.

Revenue records

Collector-General Joe Howley said Revenue’s records indicated that around 16,000 employers who registered for the TWSS did not currently hold tax clearance and may have never previously applied as it was not relevant to their businesses.

“An application for tax clearance can be made quickly and easily online through the eTax clearance service in ROS,” he said.

Flat-rate subsidy

The Government introduced the TWSS to provide support to businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and to encourage them to keep workers on their payroll.

It makes a payment to employees through their employers, whereas the new scheme provides a flat-rate subsidy to qualifying employers based on the numbers of paid and eligible employees on their payroll.

Mr Howley, said that, in order to qualify for the EWSS, employers must be able to show that their business will experience a 30% reduction in turnover or orders between 1 July and 31 December 2020 and that the decline is being caused by COVID-19.