It has been a week since the Department of Finance published Finance Bill 2025 and with it the draft legislation which will give effect to this year’s Budget 2025 announcements. The Institute, under the auspices of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies – Ireland (CCAB-I), has been engaging with officials in Revenue and the Department of Finance throughout the week to discuss this year’s draft legislation ahead of the Committee Stage due to take place in the coming weeks.
On Monday, the Department of Finance brought stakeholders together under the Business Tax Stakeholder Forum where the Finance Bill discussions took centre stage. The focus of the meeting was on the key business supports including the research and development (R&D) tax credit, the participation exemption for foreign dividends, and the special assignee relief programme (SARP). The Department also noted that there will be further engagement on the reform of the rules regarding the deductibility of interest in Ireland at the end of the year and throughout 2026, with some legislative amendment planned for 2026. In addition, the Department will be seeking input from stakeholders ahead of assuming the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026.
On Tuesday, our Tax Committee met to discuss the Finance Bill ahead of meetings with Revenue on Wednesday and Thursday through the Tax Administration Liaison Committee (TALC). Wednesday’s sessions involved meetings of the TALC BEPS Subcommittee and the TALC Indirect Taxes Subcommittee. The TALC BEPS Subcommittee focused on the changes to the participation exemption for foreign dividends and Pillar Two with the TALC Indirect Taxes Subcommittee focusing on the changes to VAT and excise. Thursday’s session involved a meeting of the Joint Main TALC and TALC Direct and Capital Taxes Subcommittee on the remaining measures across the Finance Bill.
The above engagements provide the Institute with a key opportunity annually to meet with officials and other professional bodies and trade organisations to gauge the impact of the changes across various industries and sectors of the economy. While it is clear the amount of work that goes into preparing the Finance Bill each year, our feedback is an integral part of the legislative process as well as a key opportunity to raise areas where further work may be needed before the Bill is finalised and indeed areas which may require more attention in the year ahead.
In our weekly Tax Newsletter next week, which is due next Tuesday to take account of the Bank Holiday, we will be issuing our Finance Bill 2025 – At a Glance document. This will contain a full overview of this year’s Bill as well as any and all information we can share that has come from the above engagements.
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