Written by: Samantha McCaughren. This article first appeared in the Irish Independent on 18th March 2004
Reproduced with kind permission of Irish Independent
A company car or allowance is a standard benefit of 97pc of Irish chief executives, whilst almost two in five middle managers are eligible for car benefits, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The mid-point market price of cars offered across all sectors to CEO's was €56,000, falling to €46,000 for directors below this level and €34,000 for sales managers.
Senior managers to chief executives are typically offered a choice of car within a budget, with middle managers downwards being offered a choice from specified car models.
The median annual cash alternative, or car allowance offered in lieu of a company car, ranges from €15,745 for a chief executive to €9,120 for senior sales executives. While the majority of respondents offer employees a car only, a high proportion of respondents to the survey offer a choice between a car or a car allowance, with a higher proportion of companies offering this choice to more senior executives.
The company cars are allocated to senior executives as a 'perk' rather than a business need, while mid-level and junior employees, such as senior sales executives, are offered a car to meet business needs.
Average business mileage is just over 11,000 kilometres per annum, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' snapshot survey.
One in three respondents specify that they are currently reviewing their car policy, doing so due to the new Benefit in Kind rules introduced in January of this year.
One in four plan to change their car policy in 2004.
Changes included the provision of cash allowances in place of cars, switching from purchase to lease or modifications in car allowance amounts.
Copyright © 2004 Irish Independent
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