Unlike most companies, Taxback.com, which provides an income tax refund service, is actually looking for staff. Caroline Allen reports.

Kilkenny company Taxback.com is backing the wider economic trend, with plans to create 100 jobs to expand operations nationwide.

Fidelma McGuirk, co-owner and director of operations with Taxback.com, said the company's success in an increasingly cost-conscious market was down to the range of cost saving services it offered to employers and workers. "Our services return money to the pocket of the individual and the bottom line of our corporate client," McGuirk said.

This is what people need in the current environment: money back especially money they didn?t expect."

Taxing times

Taxback.com offers an income tax refund service to individual workers. The classic Taxback customer is an Irish nurse who has worked in Australia for a year and spent a few months travelling in Asia before and after," said McGuirk. "Depending on her working dates, she may be entitled to a tax refund in Australia and also an Irish refund as she only worked part of the tax year in Ireland. While people can do this themselves, some have a block about tackling their tax and many lose out on some of their refund by claiming it themselves. "A lot of people are unaware of the full extent of their entitlements. These include medical, dental employment expenses and rental relief.

"For example, nurses are entitled to a refund on the cost of cleaning of uniforms' depending on who foots that bill, it can be worth from 93 to 526 Euro extra in the refund. The average refund is around 800 Euro. People also think that the cannot claim refunds if they have lost their documentation over the years, but we can organize replacement documents."

New jobs

Earlier this month, Taxback announced plans to create 100 jobs. The news, widely welcomed amid a deluge of job cut announcements, will see it take on candidates for roles in sales, business development, finance and administration. Taxback.com already employs 600 staff in 20 countries, eighty-five of whom are based in Ireland.

"We currently have 11 vacancies and are actively recruiting for them," said McGuirk. "As the new partnerships are launched and clients come in through them, we will continue to recruit for the business development and client interfacing roles."

Taxback.com is looking for candidates with a good balance between qualifications and experience, McGuirk said- "As we are a high growth and very entrepreneurial company, people need to be very positive delivery-focused and business driven to fit in," she said. "We have grown well over recent years by ensuring that we don't lose our ability to sense change in the market and respond quickly to meet those changes. This means that our staff need to be dynamic and flexible as well. "Not all people like that kind of high-energy environment, so we like to ensure we recruit those who will thrive in it and feed off the energy, rather than be overwhelmed by it."

Sales shortage

Despite dramatic changes in the Irish labor market in recent months, McGuirk said there was a shortage of good quality candidates in sales. management. "As we sell a service, the sale extends beyond the client signing on the dotted line and into the service delivery," she said. "This is not always what sales managers are, used to arid some find the lack of cut-off at contract signing to be quite difficult. "Historically, we have home grown our sales managers, but we are interested in hiring one or two sales managers as part of the 100 if the right candidate comes along. Business development and marketing wise, there are good candidates in the market. We have had good experience with the EOP program, run by Ibec and Enterprise Ireland. We normally hire two or three graduates into our business development and marketing teams and hope to do so this year also."

New deals

McGuirk said Taxback.com's new recruits would help the company to handle new business arising from global partnerships due to close in the coming months.

In a recent deal with Visa Europe, Taxback.com was pointed preferred VAT provider for the credit card provider. "This means our VAT refund service will be offered through their network of member banks and to commercial card holders," McGuirk said 'It will
generate a high level of international clients, leading to some of the announced job creation."

Business refunds

As well as the services it offers to individual workers, Taxback.com handles foreign VAT refunds for companies including Lily O' Briens: 'If they attend a food fair in Britain, they will pay VAT at the British VAT rate of 15 percent on everything from their hotel to taxis," McGuirk said. "As a company based in Ireland, they are entitled to get that money refunded but, under EU legislation it can get it back under the Irish system.

"The VAT incurred must be reclaimed in line with the specific legislation of the country to which you travel. Companies are due foreign VAT refunds for participation in conferences or exhibitions, or even when they engage in business travel to meet with potential vendors, clients or partners. "Businesses can file refund applications each quarter, and that is the best way for the money to hit the bottom line quickly.'

Refunds of about 5,000 Euro commonly arise from just one event, according to McGuirk.

Twenty of the new positions which the company is offering are for business development roles working with VAT refund clients.

Right to refunds

Taxback.com's services can make a real difference to businesses operating in a difficult economy, "With VAT refunds, it is money that companies will otherwise lose," McGuirk said'. "If a business gets a refund of 20 000 Euro, and their normal profit margin is 10 per cent, that means the 20 000 refund is worth sales of 200,000 Euro.

"Sales are so difficult to achieve at the moment that it's worth a lot to businesses not to lose that type of money. VAT refunds can help the bottom line immediately. We have clients who may only have one business trip and their refund may be only 500 Euro. On the other end of the scale, there are clients who are due 200,000 to 500,000 Euro. "It depends on their markets, headcount and their business activities abroad. No refund amount is too small, especially in these straitened times."

Origins

Taxback also assists individuals and companies on their property tax or filing obligations on both residential and commercial property abroad.

Terry Clune a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, started the business in 1996. He worked in Germany during his summer holidays and had some difficulty reclaiming all of the taxes subsequently owed to him. Once he had found the solution, he helped friends who were experiencing the same problem, before taking a step further and establishing a business, Clune joined Taxback.com following the completion of a Master's Degree in Business, also at TCD. The company bases all of its product development and key finance functions in Ireland. Payments due to clients are also made out of this country.

The group has local sales and marketing offices around the globe, as well as call centres in Bulgaria, Romania, Peru and Thailand. It processes documents in tandem with shared services in some of these offices.

Continued growth

Taxback is thriving, having enjoyed year-on-year growth of 15 to 20 per cent to date. "We have always had a very cost-conscious approach to managing the business," McGuirk said. "We have funded all the growth over the years. We never engaged in debt or anything that would put any strain on company funds. 'We went after our overseas markets very aggressively. We have a very high volume of clients in South America, Asia, Eastern Europe and Australia. Ireland accounts for a maximum 10 percent of our clients.

We have been very outward and market-focused at all times. "We aim to provide a good value proposition to clients. We have also developed very advanced technology in-house. Clients can, for example, track what is happening with their refunds online in seven different languages. We have up to 25 languages across our call centres." Applications for refunds due for 2008 must be reclaimed by June, according to McGuirk. Those due income tax rebates from abroad for 2007 can still make claims. "Most countries allow four years for income tax refunds," she said.

The classic Taxback customer is an Irish nurse who has worked in Australia for an year and spent a few months travelling in Asia before and after.

Source: Sunday Business Post Money & Markets
Author: Caroline Allen
Published: Sunday, February 15, 2009