It has emerged today that ESB employees are able to avoid paying the USC through an alleged share loophole.
While the rest of us fork out money for the Government through the “interim” USC, ESB employees apparently do not pay it on their company shares, due to a 2011 agreement with the Government. Such deal is said to cost the Government €10m in lost taxes in a full year.
Had this deal not been in place, ESB staff would have had to pay a 7pc USC charge when they sold their shares. It has emerged, however, that representatives for the staff lobbied the Government to be exempted from the tax.