Thursday, December 22, 2011
With over a third of the national Budget in Ireland expended through the public sector, the focus on this expenditure is becoming ever more intense. To contribute to this discussion, Chartered Accountants Ireland is presenting a half day symposium on Financial Management in the Business of th.....
Thursday, December 22, 2011
The Treasury has published a summary of responses received to the consultation “Rebalancing the Northern Ireland Economy” which was conducted over the summer. The main focus of this consultation was on a reduced rate of Corporation Tax for the province. Over 700 responses were received .....
Thursday, December 22, 2011
The Minister for Finance has signed a commencement order confirming the start date of 1 January 2012 for the new electronic Relevant Contracts Tax (RCT) electronic scheme. As members will be aware, a reform of the RCT system was first announced as part of Budget 2011 and its planned implementation .....
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
The finalised corporate governance code (the “Code”) for the Irish funds industry was published on 14 December 2011. The Code was prepared in response to an invitation to the Irish Funds Industry Association (“IFIA”) by the Central Bank in April 2010 to formulate an appropriate code for I.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
The EU Commission has issued recommendations on how to tackle problems related to cross-border inheritance tax in the EU. The recommendations include broader and more flexible application of national double taxation relief measures and adherence to the Treaty principles on non-discrimination. EU ci.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
From 16 December 2011 HMRC can now be paid using the Faster Payments Service. This will allow a taxpayer to make faster electronic payments, typically via internet or telephone banking, enabling them to be processed on the same or next day. HMRC recommends taxpayers contact their bank or building s.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
HMRC is offering assistance to employers to improve their PAYE information, it was announced last week. The scheme, called Targeted Employer Support (TES), will be rolled out to at least 1,000 employers identified by HMRC as having the most issues with data quality.TES includes tailored face-to-fac.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
Announced at Budget 2011, the European Commission has now approved for State Aid purposes the increase in the small and medium-sized enterprise R&D tax relief to 200% from 1 April 2011. HMRC has also announced that the R&D relief voluntary advance assurance pilot for small companies recentl.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
iXBRL was introduced for all company tax returns, accounts and computations being filed on or after 1April 2011 for accounting periods ending on or after 31 March 2010. As iXBRL is approaching nine months in operation we would like members to share their experiences with us. Please contact Leontia .....
Monday, December 19, 2011
The December issue of tax.point; Chartered Accountants Ireland’s monthly tax bulletin for tax professionals and accountants is now available and subscribers should shortly receive this issue by post. In this month’s issue, Kimberley Rowan reviews Ireland’s Budget 2012 and considers what it means fo.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
The Revenue Commissioners in accordance with section 891B TCA 1997 have made the above entitled Regulations. The Regulations provide for the automatic annual reporting by assurance companies of any payments made by them in the year 2011 and subsequent years in respect of investment policies.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
Members are reminded that there is a 4 year time limit for claiming refunds of income tax under section 865 TCA 1997. This means that PAYE taxpayers seeking an income tax refund for 2007 have until the end of this month – 31 December 2011 to submit a claim to Revenue.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
Revenue have published a guide which sets out a general outline of the tax reliefs, deductions and exemptions that contribute towards the creation of jobs. The guide covers: The Revenue Job Assist Scheme (section 472A TCA 1997 and section 88A TCA 1997) Relief for New Start Up Companies (secti.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
The Social Welfare Bill 2011 as passed by Dáil Eireann last week provides for the employee PRSI charge on share based remuneration and the abolition of employer PRSI relief on employee pension contributions. Section 13 of the Bill amends the definitions of reckonable earnings and reckonable emolume.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
In another tax case last week, Dunnes Stores lost its challenge in the High Court against a tax assessment of over €36 million arising from the plastic bag levy. The Court ruled in favour of the Revenue Commissioners and found that the plastic bag levy is not limited to carrier bags supplied .....
Monday, December 19, 2011
The Supreme Court handed down its judgement in the O'Flynn Construction case on Wednesday 14 December. The case concerned the General anti-avoidance Rule in section 811 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, and a tax planning scheme involving the use of ESR reserves. The Court found in favour.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
The Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011 is being sent to President Higgins for his signature today. Be aware of the less high-profile aspects of the Bill – new clearance procedures for selling residential properties, and new information gathering powers for the Revenue Commissioners.....
Monday, December 19, 2011
It is illegal and undemocratic not to comply with any tax raised through correct procedure in Dail Eireann. Chartered Accountants Ireland accepts that there are legitimate concerns with the new Household Charge, in particular its application where substantial amounts of Stamp Duty have recently bee.....
Friday, December 16, 2011
Chartered Accountants Ireland is currently undertaking work to explore the challenges being encountered with the education and assessment of financial reporting in professional education programmes. This issue has been particularly evident in the recent pass rates for this subject at CAP2.&nb.....
Friday, December 16, 2011
Kieran O’Connor, Jamie O’Leary, Frank Fahy, Cathie Preteau and Mary Mc Callig have each won a free copy of the The Seven Cs of Business Recovery e-book for Amazon’s Kindle. The winners have all been notified, and we wish them happy reading and a very Merry Christmas. The Seven Cs of B.....
Friday, December 16, 2011
The EU Commission has issued recommendations on how to tackle problems related to cross-border inheritance tax in the EU. The recommendations include broader and more flexible application of national double taxation relief measures and adherence to the Treaty principles on non-discrimination. EU ci.....
Friday, December 16, 2011
Following on from its submission on service issues earlier in the year, the Northern Ireland Tax Committee of Chartered Accountants Ireland met recently with Naomi Ferguson, Director of HMRC’s Business Customer and Strategy Unit. The meeting took place in Linenhall Street and was attended by Commit.....
Friday, December 16, 2011
The Supreme Court handed down its judgement in the O'Flynn Construction case on Wednesday last 14 December. While approved copies of the judgements are not yet to hand, the case concerned the General anti-avoidance Rule in section 811 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, and a tax planning scheme .....
Friday, December 16, 2011
The Financial Reporting Lab provides an environment where investors and companies can come together to develop pragmatic solutions to today’s reporting needs: As a learning space, companies can use the Lab to test new reporting formats with investors, and investors can indicate areas where manageme.....
Thursday, December 15, 2011
On 7January 2011, the DG Internal Market and Services published a Consultation document on the modernisation of the Professional Qualifications Directive (2005/36/EC). FEE responded in due course to the consultation. View The EC has now published a summary of responses on its website. View &nb.....
Thursday, December 15, 2011
FEE supports the aim of enhancing independence and objectivity of auditors since the independence of auditors is fundamental to public confidence in audited financial information. FEE is also of the opinion that professional scepticism could be enhanced even further to have audit quality at the hig.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
The EU Commission has adopted a Communication on the future of VAT which sets out what the Commission sees as the fundamental characteristics of a new VAT regime. The Communication confirms that the long-standing question of changing to a VAT system based on taxation at origin is no longer re.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
The OECD’s annual statistics on Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAP) under tax treaties for the 2010 reporting period are now available. For the OECD member countries for which data was provided, the average time for the completion of MAP cases is on the increase, as is the overall trend for the.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
The EU Commission recently adopted a new Regulation which sets out detailed provisions to implement mutual assistance for the recovery of taxes. The Regulation arises from Council Directive 2010/24/EU which aims to extend arrangements at Community level to ensure recovery of taxes if taxpayers atte.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
HMRC have issued a press release reminding private tutors and coaches that they have less than a month left to register to take advantage of a special disclosure opportunity. By way of reminder, the Tax Catch Up Plan was launched in October and is for people providing tuition or coaching, regardles.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Tax Agreement between the UK and Switzerland signed on 6 October 2011 have now been published. The UK-Swiss Agreement was recently covered by Chartered Accountants Tax News. By way of reminder, the key features of the Agreement are that accounts held .....
Monday, December 12, 2011
Regulations effective from 6 December have been laid before Parliament and announced in a Written Ministerial Statement. The regulations are intended to clarify the time at which companies with foreign currency loan relationships or derivative contracts and matched foreign currency shares etc come .....
Monday, December 12, 2011
HMRC have issued some general hints to speed up the process of paper agent authorisations and to help agents manage the 31 January Self-Assessment (SA) deadline. The Central Agent Authorisation Team has also provided an update on the turnaround times for the processing of paper forms 64-8 and regis.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
Tuesday 6th December also proved busy for UK practitioners with the publication of draft 2012 Finance Bill clauses. Responses to a number of key tax consultations undertaken earlier in the year were also issued with, in some cases, accompanying draft legislation and a number of tax updates on other.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
Revenue has published Notes for Guidance to provide practical guidance on the VAT Directive Implementing Regulation (Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 282/2011). This Regulation came into effect on 1 July 2011 and as it is a Council Regulation, it does not require transposition into Irish le.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
Revenue have confirmed that the new electronic RCT system is now live and basic details from approx. 165,000 contracts have been uploaded from Revenue’s records. Principal contractors can now access the system to check and update the contract details for their subcontractors that Revenue have.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
As confirmed in Chartered Tax News earlier this month, the EII which came into effect on 25 November, and the BES scheme, will both run concurrently until the end of this month. Revenue have clarified in eBrief No. 74/11 the process for notifying them whether shares issued during this period are to.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Department of Finance have published on their website an analysis of the impact of the increase to the rate of mortgage interest relief for first-time buyers who purchased their home between 2004 and 2008. According to the document, the maximum gain will range between €450 and €2,000 per annum .....
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Social Welfare Bill, which was published recently, provides that the reduction in the redundancy rebate, from 60% to 15%, will take effect from 1 January 2012. According to section 15 of the Bill, where an employer makes a claim for a rebate on or after 1 January 2012 in respect of a lump sum p.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Institute sought clarification from Revenue on a number of Budget 2012 measures at a meeting of the Main TALC committee on Friday last. While we wait Revenue’s response on a number of matters, we have a little more detail on some aspects. The household charge of €100 will not be an allowa.....
Monday, December 12, 2011
Following on from its submission on service issues earlier in the year, the Northern Ireland Tax Committee of Chartered Accountants Ireland met recently with Naomi Ferguson, Director of HMRC’s Business Customer and Strategy Unit. The meeting took place in Linenhall Street and was attended by Commit.....
Friday, December 09, 2011
Once again the CPD team are delighted to announce that we will be running a Buy One, Get One Free promotion on our pre-recorded online CPD courses again this year. This promotion kicks off on Monday 12th December and will run right up until 31st December this year Pre-recorded courses o.....
Friday, December 09, 2011
The Seven Cs of Business Recovery by Neil Hughes is now available as an eBook for your Kindle. Previously published in paperback as Beating the Recession, this book provides a framework to help businesses successfully trade through challenging economic conditions. This eBook for Kindle is available.....
Friday, December 09, 2011
The EU Commission recently adopted a new Regulation which sets out detailed provisions to implement mutual assistance for the recovery of taxes. The Regulation arises from Council Directive 2010/24/EU which aims to extend arrangements at Community level to ensure recovery of taxes if taxpayers atte.....
Friday, December 09, 2011
WITH EFFECT FROM 31 DECEMBER 2011, AMALGAMATED ACCOUNTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. As and from 1 January 2012, a separate set of accounts will be required to be filed in respect of each financial year of a company. In the event that a company attempts to file on or after 01/01/2012 .....
Friday, December 09, 2011
Tuesday 6th December also proved busy for UK practitioners with the publication of draft 2012 Finance Bill clauses. Responses to a number of key tax consultations undertaken earlier in the year were also issued with, in some cases, accompanying draft legislation and a number of tax updates on other.....
Friday, December 09, 2011
Since Minister Noonan delivered Budget 2012 on Tuesday night, Revenue have published a number of information leaflets on some of the topics mentioned in the Budget speech and supporting documents. The information leaflets, published on the Revenue website, provide guidance on: the standard rate VAT.....
Thursday, December 08, 2011
CHARIOT (Chartered Accountants Reference and Information Tool) has now been updated online. CHARIOT online is a free Institute Members (including Students) only service. You will need your Member ID and password to access CHARIOT. If you have forgotten your password, you can su.....
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
The most anticipated change on Pensions Tax Relief – restricting contributions to a rate below the 41% rate did not actually happen. However, the pensions adjustments will raise almost €100m for the Exchequer, the most costly change being the abolition of Employer PRSI relief for Employee con.....
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
The imperative for the Minister for Finance in this Budget was to do as little harm to business as possible, given the financial constraints he is under. In fact many of his measures will help business, with a knock on benefit for employment. “It was essential that the Minister selected tax .....
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
The farming sector was the focus of tax measures aimed at accelerating the transfer of farms and the introduction of a scheme of enhanced stock relief. Retirement Relief Measures In an effort to encourage the transfer of farms from one generation to the next before the current owner reach.....
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
As part of his Budget Statement, the Minister took the opportunity to re-affirm the government’s commitment to maintaining our 12.5% corporation tax rate and noted that much of Ireland’s growth at present can be attributed to the attractiveness of Ireland as a destination for inward investment. &nb.....
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
The standard VAT rate will increase from 21% to 23% with effect from 1 January 2012. The projected tax revenue set to be raised by this measure is €670 million in a full tax year which accounts for the bulk of taxes needed by the Government in 2012. The hike in VAT to 23% impacts on professio.....
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
There were a mix of unexpected and already signposted (though detail not known) changes in these areas. Capital Gains Tax For disposals made after 6 December 2011, the rate of CGT increases from 25% to 30%. The additional tax estimated to be generated from this measure over a full tax year is.....
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Important links to published content on Budget 2012 can be accessed at the following Department of Finance Revenue Commissioners Department of Social and Family Affair.....
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Following through on the Government’s commitment as set out in the Programme for Government to maintain the current rates of income tax together with bands and credits, no changes to these areas were announced today. However, there were a number new of amendments to existing measures announce.....
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
There were two main measures in this area; one had been flagged in advance, the other not so. It was announced that the current relief of 50% of employer PRSI for employee contributions to occupational pension schemes and other pension arrangements is being removed from 1 January 2012. The change w.....
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Following the trend in recent Budgets, there were several changes announced in this area. The usual suspects, petrol, auto-diesel and cigarettes will increase in price from midnight Budget night. Other increases to the rate of carbon tax and excise duty were announced by the Minister wh.....
Monday, December 05, 2011
Tomorrow’s Budget Statement by the Minister for Finance will concentrate on indirect taxes – VAT, Excise and Carbon Taxes rather than on income tax. But as ever, watch the fine print. The heavy lifting as far as tax raising measures go will be done by VAT increases. Be.....
Monday, December 05, 2011
The European Court of Justice in its judgment in Case C-371/10 National Grid Indus BV v Inspecteur van de Belastingsdienst Rijnmond / kantoor Rotterdam has found that EU law in principle does not preclude the charging of tax on unrealised capital gains relating to the assets of a company when it tr.....
Monday, December 05, 2011
HMRC advise that workplace pensions law is changing next year. From 2012 changes to pensions law will affect every employer in the UK with the intention of helping more people save for retirement. Employers must comply with the new rules and any associated duties as a result. The changes mean.....
Monday, December 05, 2011
HMRC have now published the above edition of VAT notes which contains a summary of recent changes to VAT rules and announces any future changes. This edition includes items such as a reminder about the April 2012 deadline for online filing, changes to the VAT rules for postal services, changes to s.....
Monday, December 05, 2011
HMRC have issued a press release advising evaders of VAT that they have until 31 December to complete the VAT registration process under the time-limited HMRC campaign. Covered by Chartered Accountants Tax News, the scheme was launched in July this year offering those who have failed to register a .....
Monday, December 05, 2011
Tables showing the Indexation Allowance for assets disposed of in September and October 2011 have now been published together with historical data. These can be accessed here.....
Monday, December 05, 2011
Traditionally the rebadged ‘Pre-Budget report’ was seen by many tax practitioners as the second biggest event in the UK tax calendar. But with the advent of the current Government’s approach to announcing many tax changes well in advance of the following Finance Act coupled with the publication at .....
Monday, December 05, 2011
Revenue has published eBrief No. 72/11 which confirms that, in the case of Buy-Out-Bonds (BOBs) that access to the Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) option follows on from the occupational pension scheme arrangement from which the transfer value originated. In eBrief 72/11, Revenue confirms that in re.....
Monday, December 05, 2011
In response to queries raised with Revenue regarding the operation of the CAT exemption (section 84) for gifts/inheritances taken exclusively for the purpose of discharging the “qualifying” expenses of an individual who is permanently incapacitated by reason of physical or mental infirmity, a new P.....
Monday, December 05, 2011
November is considered the key month of the year in terms of tax revenues, and the target for the month was €5.476bn. However, according to the November exchequer statements published on Friday, total receipts are €5.14bn, some €337 million below expectations and €520 million (1.6%) cumulatively be.....
Friday, December 02, 2011
The European Court of Justice in its judgment in Case C-371/10 National Grid Indus BV v Inspecteur van de Belastingsdienst Rijnmond / kantoor Rotterdam has found that EU law in principle does not preclude the charging of tax on unrealised capital gains relating to the assets of a company when it tr.....
Friday, December 02, 2011
Traditionally the rebadged ‘Pre-Budget report’ was seen by many tax practitioners as the second biggest event in the UK tax calendar. But with the advent of the current Government’s approach to announcing many tax changes well in advance of the following Finance Act coupled with the publication at .....
Friday, December 02, 2011
Approval was received from the European Commission for the Employment and Investment Incentive (EII) scheme and the Seed Capital Scheme (SCS). The new incentives came into effect last Friday 25 November 2011 until 31 December 2013. Tax relief under the Business Expansion Scheme (BES) will continue .....
Friday, December 02, 2011
It’s really starting to feel like Christmas with five free copies of the Kindle edition of Neil Hughes’ book The Seven Cs of Business Recovery to be won. This ebook for Kindle is available for purchase now athttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B006C22K0S/but you can win it today! To enter this free draw send .....
Thursday, December 01, 2011
On 1 April 2011, CRO introduced a new system whereby an Auditor Registration Number (ARN) must be inserted on a B1 (annual return form) when an audited set of accounts is filed with the CRO - see http://www.cro.ie/ena/2011ezine.aspx?page=3&article=94a5f981-0887-47f2-a347-963c203a46d1 This.....
Thursday, December 01, 2011
In September CARB published a Discussion Paper detailing proposals on how to enhance the regulation of Insolvency Practitioners in the Republic of Ireland. Chartered Accountants Ireland has responded to this paper and the response can be read here.....