RTÉ News has learnt that Revenue has issued tax bills to some Aer Lingus staff because the tax body believes a controversial 2008 redundancy scheme was not valid.
Under the scheme, around 715 staff left the airline with a redundancy package worth nine weeks pay per year of service - but returned to work at the airline within weeks on lower terms and conditions.
Both SIPTU and Aer Lingus have insisted that the redundancies were genuine, and qualify for generous tax relief.
Under the so-called 'leave and return' scheme in 2008, almost 1,100 staff left Aer Lingus with the generous redundancy packages. Within weeks, 715 returned to work for the airline.
At the time, some queried whether this counted as a redundancy. If it did, the airline was entitled to a government rebate for part of the redundancy costs. The Department of Enterprise, Trade & Innovation told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee that the rebate could be worth €5m to the company.
For their part, the redundant workers would get favourable tax treatment of the package - which could cost the taxpayer millions in tax foregone.
But late last year, when the Dublin Airport Authority tried to do a similar deal for staff transferring from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2, Revenue told it this did not qualify as a redundancy - a ruling the DAA has appealed.
It then emerged that the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Innovation still has not approved the so-called 'leave and return' scheme as qualifying for the State rebate. The normal time for processing an application for the rebate is six months.
Meanwhile, just before Christmas, some Aer Lingus staff who had applied for tax relief on their redundancy lump sums were told that they did not qualify for redundancy tax treatment, and would have to repay any relief they had been given.
This afternoon, SIPTU confirmed to RTÉ News that members had received such tax demands. A union spokesperson said that as far as it was concerned, its members in Aer Lingus had been made redundant, and appointed to completely different jobs where they were paid up to 20% less. On that basis, SIPTU believe these were actual redundancies.
Revenue said it could not comment on individual cases. The Department of Enterprise, Trade & Innovation said it was still dealing with issues of clarification with Aer Lingus. It said tax demands were a matter for Revenue.
