Top staff get €2m tax break sweeteners

High-flying professionals enjoyed tax breaks worth almost €2m in just one year under the scheme to entice in-demand skill from abroad.

The special assignee relief scheme (SARP) was introduced in 2012 to encourage highly skilled workers to relocate to Ireland and while just 11 individuals took up the offer that year, 121 followed in 2013.

Figures just published by the Department of Finance and based on employers’ tax returns at the end of last year show that the cost of the scheme in foregone tax revenue in 2012 was €127,000 but that leaped to €1.895m in 2013.