Only €6.8m spent on ‘Stay and Spend’ to date

Since the Government's Stay and Spend scheme began on the 1st of  October last year consumers have spent a total of €6,822,398 through the scheme to the 18th of January this year.

 

 

Up to this date, some 43,196 receipts had been uploaded to the Revenue Receipts Tracker with the potential cost to Revenue amounting to €1,364,480, “assuming all such expenditure is claimed and qualifies in full for tax relief” according to the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe in answer to a parliamentary question from Deputy Ged Nash.

The current Stay and Spend scheme, due to end on the 1st of April, entitles consumers to claim back expenditure on either holiday accommodation or “eat in” food and (soft) drink, with a minimum expenditure amount of €25 per transaction being required.

Claims submitted to date through income tax returns relate to €1,527,149 of this qualifying expenditure recorded on the Revenue Receipts Tracker and the tax cost of same amounts to €305,430.

Thanks to the Coronavirus restrictions this falls well short of the anticipated cost to Government of €270 million on an anticipated consumer spend in hospitality and accommodation of around €1 billion during the period in question.