S.I. No. 77/1974:

SOCIAL WELFARE (SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS FOR PAY-RELATED BENEFIT) REGULATIONS, 1974.

SOCIAL WELFARE (SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS FOR PAY-RELATED BENEFIT) REGULATIONS, 1974.

The Minister for Social Welfare in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (No. 11 of 1952) and by sections 5, 7, 8, 13 and 15 of the Social Welfare (Pay-Related Benefit) Act, 1973 (No. 2 of 1973) hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Special Contributors for Pay-Related Benefit) Regulations, 1974.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1974.

2. (1) In these Regulations--

"the Act of 1952" means the Social Welfare Act, 1952 ;

"the Act of 1967" means the Income Tax Act, 1967 (No. 6 of 1967);

"the Act of 1973" means the Social Welfare (Pay-Related Benefit) Act, 1973;

"income tax year" means a year of assessment within the meaning of the Act of 1967 ;

"quarter" means a period in any income tax year commencing on 6th April and ending on 30th June, or commencing on 1st July and ending on 30th September, or commencing on 1st October and ending on 31st December, or commencng on 1st January and ending on 5th April;

"the office of the Department" means the office of the Department of Social Welfare at Aras Mhic Dhiarmada, Dublin 1;

"pay-related contribution" means a contribution under section 5 of the Act of 1973;

"contribution card" means a card in the form approved for use in the collection of pay-related contribution under these Regulations ;

"pay-related benefit year" has the meaning assigned to it in Article 2 of the Social Welfare (Pay-Related Benefit) Regulations, 1974 ( S.I. No. 16 of 1974 );

"emoluments" means pecuniary emoluments paid to a special contributor by an employer which are assessable to income tax under the provisions of the Act of 1967 but from which income tax is not deducted under the provisions of Chapter IV, Part V of that Act;

"employer" means a person who resides outside the State who, or a body incorporated or formed outside the State which, pays emoluments in respect of employment to an employed contributor exercising that employment within the State;

"special contributor" means an employed contributor who is employed in the State by an employer and in respect of whose employment, employment contributions are payable at a rate specified in paragraphs 1, 2 or 2A of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1952.

3. (1) The amount of a special contributor's reckonable earnings within the meaning of the Act of 1973 for any income tax year shall be the amount of the emoluments which are paid to or for the benefit of that contributor in that income tax year.

(2) For the purposes of sub-article (1) of this article any sums deducted for any reason from any payment on account of a special contributor's emoluments which is or would, but for such deduction, be made in any income tax year shall be treated as paid to or for the benefit of the contributor in that income tax year.

(3) In calculating the reckonable weekly earnings of a person in accordance with the provisions of article 3 of the Social Welfare (Pay-Related Benefit) Regulations, 1974, the reckonable earnings determined in accordance with sub-articles (1) and (2) of this article shall be taken into account.

4. (1) Where in any employment a payment is made to or for the benefit of a special contributor on account of his reckonable earnings in any income tax year--

( a ) a pay-related contribution at the rate of 1% of the amount of the payment of reckonable earnings shall be payable by the contributor and

( b ) a pay-related contribution at the rate of 2% of the amount of the payment of reckonable earnings shall be payable by his employer in that employment.

(2) Where a special contributor's reckonable earnings have amounted to a sum of £2,500 in any income tax year and pay-related contributions have been paid in respect of such reckonable earnings under the provisions of sub-article (1) of this article or otherwise, no further pay-related contributions shall be payable in respect of any reckonable earnings of that contributor in that income tax year.

(3) Where a special contributor is concurrently employed in two or more employments by two or more employers each of those employers shall be treated as his employer for the purpose of these Regulations notwithstanding the provisions of article 14 of the Social Welfare (Collection of Contributions) Regulations, 1967, ( S.I. No. 90 of 1967 ).

(4) Where the special contributor is an employed contributor to whom subsection (10) (inserted by the Act of 1973) of section 6 of the Act of 1952 applies, the pay-related contribution specified in sub-article (1) (a) of this article shall not be payable.

5. (1) An employer shall, at the time of making any payment of reckonable earnings in respect of which pay-related contributions are payable, deduct from the payment the amount of pay-related contribution payable by the special contributor in respect of that payment.

(2) Pay-related contributions payable by the special contributor shall not be recoverable from him by his employer otherwise than by deductions in accordance with sub-article (1) of this article.

6. An employer shall in relation to pay-related contributions payable in respect of payments of reckonable earnings--

( a ) record on a separate contribution card for each special contributor the amount of each payment of reckonable earnings and the amount of the pay-related contribution deductible on payment of reckonable earnings;

( b ) remit to the office of the Department within fourteen days from the end of each quarter the amount of the pay-related contributions deductible on payment of reckonable earnings to each special contributor in that quarter, together with the appropriate amount by way of employer's pay-related contributions in respect of that contributor, accompanied by a statement showing the total reckonable earnings and the total pay-related contributions which the employer was liable to remit in respect of that quarter;

( c ) furnish to the office of the Department within fourteen days from the end of each income tax year on the contribution card or on such other form as may be approved in any case a return in respect of each special contributor showing for that income tax year:--

(i) the total reckonable earnings paid to the contributor,

(ii) the total pay-related contributions payable by the contributor,

(iii) the total pay-related contributions payable by the employer, and

(iv) the total pay-related contributions which the employer was liable to remit.

7. In the calculation of the employed contributor's or the employer's pay-related contribution, fractions of a pound in reckonable earnings shall be disregarded.

8. An employer shall in respect of each special contributor employed by him on 6th April, 1974 furnish to the office of the Department:--

( a ) the name and address of the special contributor, and

( b ) a statement of the total amount of the emoluments paid by the employer to or for the benefit of the special contributor in each of the income tax years 1972/73 and 1973/74.

9. (1) The employer of a special contributor who commences employment after 6th April, 1974 shall send to the office of the Department notification of his name and address and the name and address of the special contributor within 14 days of the commencement of the employment.

(2) Where a change occurs in a name or address which has been notified under this article or the preceding article the employer shall send a notification to the office of the Department of the change.

10. If an employer ceases to employ a special contributor he shall notify the office of the Department forthwith of the name and address the contributor, the date on which the employment ceased and the gross amount of emoluments paid to the employee from the commencement of the income tax year up to the date of cessation of the employment and shall forward to the office of the Department:--

( a ) the special contributor's contribution card and

( b ) any sums by way of pay-related contributions due but unpaid at the date of cessation of the employment.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare

this 22nd day of March, 1974.

BRENDAN CORISH,

Minister for Social Welfare.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance, this

22nd day of March, 1974.

RICHIE RYAN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The Social Welfare (Pay-Related Benefit) Act, 1973, provides for a scheme of pay-related benefit financed by pay-related contributions payable by insured persons and their employers. These Regulations make special provision in relation to insured persons employed in the State by persons or firms outside the State. These insured persons are referred to in the Regulations as "special contributors".

The Regulations prescribe how the amount of a special contributor's earnings is to be determined and the rates of pay-related contributions payable. They also provide that pay-related contributions will not be payable on reckonable earnings in excess of £2,500 a year. In the case, of special contributors who are excepted from liability for the employed contributor's share of any flat-rate employment contribution, the Regulations provide that the employee's pay-related contribution shall not be payable.

The Regulations prescribe the duties and responsibilities of employers in the matter of deducting, remitting, and accounting for pay-related contributions, and of notifying the Department of Social Welfare of particulars regarding special contributors.