INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES in the 2012 Olympics in London should be offered temporary tax reliefs if they base themselves in Ireland for training, an Oireachtas committee has suggested.
The Committee on Environment, Tourism and Sport has written to Minister for Finance Michael Noonan suggesting short-term incentives be used to entice international Olympic teams and individual competitors to base their training camps in Ireland.
One of its suggestions is to introduce a temporary tax break that “would allow athletes to recoup any tax or taxes paid while in Ireland on, for example, expenditure on accommodation, food and drink, travel, gifts and admission to cultural venues”.
However, Minister for Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar last night said the idea, while commendable, may have come too late.
“While I welcome the committee’s initiative and interest in the matter, it may be a little late as almost all teams have identified their training and acclimatisation base already. It is a pity that the last government did not do more.”
He said the proposal “might not be possible under the terms of the EU VAT directive but the Department of Finance would be better placed to respond to the proposal as it is a tax issue”.
Committee chairman Ciaran Lynch TD said that despite a drive by the previous government to attract international teams to Ireland, the response had been disappointing. He said this measure might help entice some teams to Ireland.
“When it was first announced that London was to host the 2012 Olympics it was anticipated that it would be a huge benefit for Ireland’s sporting facilities, given our proximity to the games location,” he said.
“So far just four teams have committed to using Ireland as a pre-games training base. In Britain Olympic teams are being offered grants of up to £25,000 to use training facilities in the UK.”