Murphy group sued for payment of expenses

Mr James Gogarty sued the Murphy group for the payment of out-of-pocket expenses, he told the tribunal.

These included phone calls he said he had made while carrying out consultancy duties from his home, amounting to a total of £3,746.70. He also sought a P60 tax form from the group showing that he had been paid £215,000 in a year in the early 1990s. The company had given him a number of P60 forms totalling £215,000 paid by three of the group's companies.

They included £191,067 paid by Grafton Construction Ltd, £14,360 by Wexburn Ltd, and £9,573 by Reliable Construction (Dublin) Ltd.

Mr Gogarty said that the P60 forms were incorrect and agreed that he sought a single P60 form outlining that he was paid the money by JMSE and not by the associated companies. He felt he would be taxed twice otherwise.

The tribunal heard details of correspondence from Mr Joseph Murphy in January 1991 following Mr Gogarty's claim that he should receive one P60 form. Mr Murphy pointed out that Mr Gogarty was paid "a pension of £300,000, together with a salary of £215,000, which totals £515,000, a not insignificant sum, you must agree.

"This amounts approximately to nearly 10 per cent of the turnover of JMSE for the year ended May 31st, 1990".

Mr Murphy said Mr Gogarty's agreement was with Lagos Holdings and all proper procedures were followed in handling the PAYE and PRSI deductions. The issue was not resolved, and Mr Gogarty sued in 1991. A Circuit Court judgment in June 1994 ordered that Mr Gogarty as plaintiff receive £618.70 from the defendant. It also stipulated that Mr Gogarty should receive the P60 form he originally requested from JMSE, reflecting a payment of £215,000.