The Irish arm of global online fundraising platform, GoFundMe has scored an €11.3 million VAT 'win' arising from the favourable resolution of a tax investigation by the Revenue Commissioners here.
Last year, GoFundMe here enjoyed international headlines with the ‘buy a pint' fundraiser on its platform that raised €370,020 for the ‘hero’ of the Parnell Street stabbings in November 2023, Deliveroo rider, Caio Benicio.
Now, new accounts show that GoFundMe Ireland Ltd was under investigation at the time by the Revenue Commissioners relating to company's VAT returns filed for years 2017 through to 2020.
Arising from the investigation, directors for GoFundMe Ireland state that the company "had estimated a liability - or VAT Reserve - of €9.5 million consisting of a VAT liability of €11.3 million less a VAT Receivable of €1.8 million to be settled upon the close of the examination".
The new accounts show that the company recorded the exceptional gain of €11.33 million arising from the company receiving a communication from the tax authorities here in February 2024 regarding resolution of the VAT examination "which resulted in a de minimis tax liability for the company".
The directors state that "in addition the company received cash for the €1.8 million VAT refunds receivable from Ireland".
The accounts show that the €11.33 million exceptional gain contributed to pre-tax profits at the company increasing by more than 11-fold from €2.24 million to €27.7 million in 2023.
This followed revenues increasing by 10 per cent from €37.35 million to €41.13 million and the revenues are generated in Europe, the UK and Canada.
The company holds the intellectual property rights for all GoFundMe geographical locations outside the United States of America.
The company recorded a post tax profit of €24.07m after incurring a €3.7m corporation tax charge. Accumulated profits at the end of last year totalled €29.3m
The directors state that the company's operations contributed to a 10pc increase in revenue primarily driven by strong growth in key markets across Europe and international crisis.
They state "despite this growth, foreign exchange rate volatility and differing regional regulatory frameworks presented challenges, impacting overall profitability".
The directors point to the company's healthy cash position of €37.22 million.
A breakdown of revenues show that €16.57 million was generated in Europe, €10.76 million in Canada and €13.79 million in the UK.
They state that looking forward, the company "aims to further expand its presence internationally, though we anticipate continued risks from global economic uncertainties and evolving regulations in key markets".
Numbers employed by the company last year reduced from 60 to 53 and staff costs declined from €5.22 million to €5.09 million that included bonus payments of €134,000.
The directors for the Dublin based company state that in August 2024, thecompany provided notice to its landlord to exercise its break option included in its office lease agreement, which allows for termination of the lease as of September 30th, 2024, without penalty.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
