Cross-border staff face tax headache for home working

BUSINESS people living along the border have to drive into their offices in the North every day because of a quirk in the Irish tax system, a campaign er has said.

The tax problem is forcing workers to leave their home office and risk exposure to coronavirus.

That’s because anyone resident in the State employed in the North is subject to a ‘double tax’ on their income if they perform any workrelated activities in the Republic.

Conor Dowds is a senior manager at tech firm Allstate in Derry who lives near Ballybofey, Co. Donegal.

During the pandemic Allstate employees were obliged to work from home.

However, to avoid a hefty tax bill, Mr Dowds is forced to drive 40 minutes into the office in the North to conduct business, which may often only take 10 or 20 minutes to resolve.

He said: ‘I travel 100 kilometres a day in and out of the office.

‘If I need to do something outside of hours, I have to get in the car and make that journey to do it,’ he said.

Allstate, a software and business development compan is t he North’s largest IT company with 2,300-plus employees across three sites in Belfast, Derry and Strabane in Co. Tyrone.

Significant numbers of workers at its border sites still commute from the Republic.

Mr Dowds added: ‘ The working world is changing and has changed and the need for greater flexibility is increasing. That is the same across industries.’

Revenue temporarily waived tax liability but those affected are pressing for longer-lasting changes to personal tax liability rules.

The recently established Cross Border Workers Coalition aims to place pressure on the Government to make changes to personal tax liability rules for employees who are resident in the Republic but work in the North.