Workers ‘should get a tax-free lunch to shore up ailing restaurant sector’ says giftcard business boss
View original article at Irish Independent
The incoming government could help resuscitate the country’s beleaguered restaurant sector by enabling employers to give tax-free meal vouchers for staff to spend at local restaurants and cafes, according to the founder of a fast-growing gift-card technology platform.
Free or subsidised meals at a company canteen that’s open to all employees don’t incur a benefit-in-kind charge, but meal vouchers provided by employers are a taxable benefit. Free food has long been one of the perks of working for large tech companies, including Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram.
Kealan Lennon from CleverCards, which provides prepaid downloadable digital mastercards to employers who want to reward staff, is hopeful the next government will reform tax on meal vouchers.
Restaurants would get income they wouldn’t otherwise get, but the Government wouldn’t be paying for it – employers would be
“It would be smart for the Government to do this because the restaurants would get income they wouldn’t otherwise get, but the Government wouldn’t be paying for it – employers would be,” he said. “Employees (who receive meal vouchers) would be thrilled, would spend locally, and would be more likely to vote for the Government next time round.”
Lennon is currently working with a US organisation on providing meal cards to employees.
“They’re saying ‘we have staff working remotely and we want to give them a meal card worth $15 (€14) a day’,” he said. “If you gave someone even a tenner a day over 50 weeks, it’s a small amount but because your lunch is being paid for by your employer (tax-free), it has more bang for your buck than if the value was going straight into your bank account.”
Meal vouchers for workers that are partially or fully exempt from income tax and social insurance have long been common in continental European countries, including Portugal, Belgium, Romania and the Czech Republic. In France, legislation mandates that every employer with more than 50 employees gives staff a daily €15 lunch voucher, Lennon said.
By 1957, some 6,000 firms in the Greater London area were handing out vouchers
Luncheon vouchers were introduced in London after the end of post-war food rationing, as a way for small businesses that couldn’t afford a cafeteria to ensure lower-paid staff had enough to eat and stay healthy.
By 1957, some 6,000 firms in the Greater London area were handing out vouchers to a combined 150,000 employees to defray the cost of their midday meal, according to The Guardian’s archive.
In the 1960s, Jacques Borel – a French businessman credited with bringing fast food to France – introduced the concept to French employers. The meal voucher scheme was recognised by France as a tax-free employee benefit regulated by national law and the idea took off in other countries.