A new survey shows that state and semi-state employees appear to be much better at reclaiming tax refunds than private sector workers.
The latest Taxback.com Customer Index reveals that those working in the HSE, Iarnroid Eireann, the Department of Defence, An Post and the Department of Justice were the main employers of claimants.
The survey also found that those working in retail sales are the most likely to claim, followed by female nurses and engineers.
Meanwhile, the top five industries from which workers apply for tax refunds included trade and business, medical and pharma, hotels, engineering and electrical and IT.
Barry Flanagan, Senior Tax Manager at www.taxback.com, said that from the assessment of customer activity it appears that those working for public sector employers appear to be more proactive in claiming back tax than those in the private sector.
He said that while it is unclear as to why exactly this is, it is possibly just the case that there is greater awareness of tax reliefs in these workplaces.
"Ideally, we would like to see many more of their private sector counterparts following suit. It is invariably a very worthwhile pursuit, with the typical claimant gaining up to €1,000," he added.
