The regulatory body for nurses and midwives has made a six- figure settlement with the Revenue Commissioners in relation to an outstanding tax liability.
Department of Health documents show that the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) paid €105,000 to settle a liability related to VAT covering the period 2011-2014.
The board said the issue related to a reverse charge – a method of accounting for VAT which places the onus on the recipient, not the supplier, to account for and pay VAT to Revenue.
It said it arose on intra-EU acquisitions and the supplies were zero-rated in the EU member state of origin and VAT was accounted for by the VAT-registered recipient in the EU member state of destination at the applicable VAT rate.
It said examples of such services/acquisitions include NMBI registration systems, the call centre that processes payment of the annual nurse retention fee, and subscriptions to on-line nursing and midwifery journals.
“In 2014, the finance manager in NMBI discovered that this reverse charge rule had not been applied to overseas acquisitions/services in NMBI. This is not unusual in a lot of organisations nationwide.
“The Revenue Commissioners were notified by NMBI and a process of engagement followed whereby a request was made to calculate the liability for the period 2011-2014.
“This was completed and agreed and the liability discharged in full with Revenue.”
Advised
The NMBI said the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General was advised as soon as the issue was identified, as was its board and the Department of Health.
“Systems have been amended in NMBI to capture this information and ensure that the correct VAT liability is calculated and returned to Revenue on a bi-monthly basis.”
Minutes of a meeting between the Department of Health and the nursing board last autumn state the nursing and midwifery board had confirmed that the tax liability relating to the years 2011-2014 “would have to be paid and amounted to €105,000”.
The tax settlement is the latest controversy to hit the nursing board in recent times. It has faced criticism over delays in processing nurses’ registration and plans to increase the annual fee which nurses and midwives must pay.
Last year it had to back down on plans to rise the fee for nurses and midwives from €100 to €150.
The board said at the time additional money was needed to pay for increased costs, including the cost of holding fitness to practise inquiries in public.
Senior union sources said they had never been given details of the tax settlement.
‘Not effective’
Last November a confidential report by consultants
Crowe Horwath
, found the board was “not operating effectively or efficiently in all of its functional areas – registration, fitness to practice, education and corporate services”.
It said it was apparent that a comprehensive overhaul of the NMBI’s structure was required.
The report also maintained urgent attention was required in relation to its financial position “specifically with regard to its financial forecasts over the next three years, its income projections and its expenditure budget”.
The NMBI, citing legal advice, has refused to publish the findings of this document or of a second consultancy report carried out into adherence to public service procurement and human resource policies.
