Unclear if Marty Morrissey car loan created tax issues

The controversy over the RTÉ broadcaster Marty Morrissey being given the loan of a car for five years by Renault, as well as discussion during the week about other well-known broadcasters acting as “ambassadors” for car manufacturers, has raised the issue of benefit in kind tax.

In general, if an employee is given a car by his or her employer, it raises a tax liability for the employee that is based, amongst other matters, on the value of the car when it came onto the market.

In the case of Morrissey, an employee of RTÉ, he was asked by Renault in 2017 to act as master of ceremonies at a number of events in Renault garages where GAA personalities would be interviewed and he agreed to do so without any fee. Renault, he said, then offered him the use of a car, and he accepted. He returned the car last Friday, in the context of the ongoing controversy at RTÉ, and has described his acceptance of the car as an error of judgment.

According to one accountant, speaking off the record, it is possible that the use of the car could be viewed as payment for services rendered, creating a liability to tax. That tax would be levied at 20 per cent of the value of the car, per year, for five years, at presumably the highest rate of income tax, as well as PRSI and the universal social charge. Other issues, such as who paid for the tax and insurance on the car, would affect the calculation.

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However, it is understood that other accountants take a contrary view, and that the circumstances of the car loan are such that no tax liability arises. It is worth noting that in his statement on Thursday, Morrissey said he had assured RTÉ that he was ready to assist, and rectify, any issues that might arise because of the arrangement with Renault. He has not publicly addressed the tax issue.

In cases where a person has been gifted a car in return for acting as an “ambassador”, a more straightforward commercial arrangement is in place. Often these broadcasters are not employees and have set up a company for the purposes of their broadcasting and commercial activities, so the taxation of the arrangement would occur in that context and could create tax considerations for both the company and the broadcaster.

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Morrissey took part in an RTÉ TV programme in 2020, On the Road Again, which featured a Renault car, but it is understood this was an arrangement between the station and the car manufacturer, and independent of Morrissey. Last year the popular sports journalist had a stage show, Marty’s Party, which was sponsored by the XL Retail Group. The production was independent of RTÉ and the sponsorship arrangement was approved by the station.

On Friday, the Colm Quinn BMW group said it was not the case that Morrissey had acted as a “brand ambassador” for the car sales group a number of years ago.

“We did use the term “Colm Quinn BMW Brand Ambassador” in relation to Marty Morrissey in a Facebook post from April 2016, but the use of this term was misleading and incorrect and therefore that post has since been deleted,” it said.

“To clarify, if there are other posts which incorrectly refer to Marty as a Brand Ambassador as opposed to a customer of Colm Quinn Group, these are also incorrect.”

Morrissey, the group said, was a “paying customer” of the group and is a long time personal friend of Colm Quinn.