London Society News

The group representing Irish accountancy bodies has called on the government to introduce emergency measures for the SME sector in Budget 2021 to help them withstand the impact of Covid-19 in the coming months. The Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies -Ireland (CCAB-I) launched its 2021 Pre-Budget Submission to Government today.  Concessions in terms of how the Government will tax Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme payments and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment are urgently required. For example, if an employee receives €350 per week under the TWSS, this amounts to €7,700 over 22 weeks and is a substantial amount of untaxed income for a worker to deal with at the end of the year. Tax due on these payments should be spread over four years or more to avoid a significant drop in the worker’s take home pay.  The Submission acknowledges the unprecedented supports provided to date, however, warns that in the absence of further extraordinary supports, many SMEs in Ireland cannot survive. Measures proposed in the Submission cover tax supports for self-employed individuals, measures to support SME recovery and tax rule reforms to reflect modern work practices.  Anticipating that many self-employed individuals will not be in a position to pay their income tax liability due in November this year, the Submission proposes the write-down of the first €10,000 of the balance of the 2019 tax liability of self-employed individuals on a targeted basis for those in financial difficulty as a highly effective means of support.  With an eye to supporting entrepreneurship and incentivising investment, among the measures the Submission also proposes are the implementation of the recommendations of the Indecon Report on the Revised Entrepreneur Relief; the tailoring of R&D tax credits to facilitate the economic recovery of the SME sector; the introduction of a digital tax credit for SMEs; and the refining of the Employment Incentive and Investment Scheme (EIIS) rules to generate much needed equity funding for SMEs operating in difficult economic circumstances. Commenting Norah Collender, Professional Tax Lead, Chartered Accountants Ireland said, “When we talk about small businesses, we mean local retailers, manufacturers, hospitality, and service providers. They are reeling from the economic impact of COVID-19and face liquidity pressures which could result in business closures without Government support. The tax system is a powerful means of getting supports to SMEs, which in turn always respond positively with increased economic activity. “The Programme for Government talks about many tax initiatives to help small business which it must follow through on as soon as possible along with extending emergency tax measures introduced by Revenue.  Small businesses need to know where they stand so a practical way of doing this is for Revenue to confirm that its emergency tax measures will remain in place for the rest of 2020.    “It’s natural for any Government faced with a deficit to consider cutting back tax supports but such a move will mean the end for many businesses.  SMEs account for over 1 million employees, or 68.4% of total employment in the Irish business economy and economic recovery is simply impossible if these businesses don’t get the tax supports they need.” 

Today, Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a set of new measures to offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK economy. Alan Gourley, Chair of NI Tax Committee, Chartered Accountants Ireland gave his initial reaction, commenting “The key measures announced in the Summer Statement today are designed to encourage consumers to get back out spending and to have the confidence to enjoy a meal out, buy a home and return workers to regular employment. “Today’s announcements will have a positive impact on the economy in Northern Ireland.  We have the same Stamp Duty Land Tax system as England so Northern Ireland will benefit from the increase from £125,000 to £500,0000 of the zero-rate threshold, a saving of £2,500 on a home costing £250,000. “This zero-rate threshold in addition to measures like the reduced 5% VAT rate for hospitality services, the innovative “eat out to help out scheme” and the jobs retention bonus are all time bound incentives due to expire early next year at the latest. This will hopefully encourage consumers to have the confidence and the money to resume spending in 2020. This can only be a good thing as local businesses in Northern Ireland really need consumer support to get back on track.  “These incentives, combined with a sensible approach to social distancing will help as the economy tries to navigate the post-COVID-19 recovery.” Highlights include:  Jobs retention bonus will be paid to employers from 1/11/2020 to 31/1/21 - £1k bonus per furloughed employee who is returned to work - employee must be paid at least £520 per month on average between Nov 2020 and Jan 2021.  Payments will be made from February 2021. Stamp duty land tax on residential properties – 0% threshold will be raised to £500,000 (currently £125,000) until 31/3/2020 – effective from today for England and NI. VAT on hospitality – food (eat-in or hot takeaway food from restaurants, cafes and pubs),  accommodation (hotels, B&Bs, campsites and caravan sites) and attractions (cinemas, theme parks and zoos) cut from 20% to 5% from next Wednesday until 12 January 2021. For month of August – “eat out to help out” discount - meals eaten at any participating business, from Monday to Wednesday, will be 50% off, up to a maximum discount of £10 per head for everyone, including children. Businesses will need to register, and can do so through a website, open next Monday. Each week in August, businesses can then claim the money back, with the funds in their bank account within 5 working days.  

Paul Henry, Director of Osborne King and President of Chartered Accountants Ireland has been named as Chair of CCAB for 2020/22. CCAB (The Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies) is an umbrella group of the accountancy profession in the UK and has a combined membership worldwide of 408,000. Its core purpose is to promote sustainable growth in the economy through the accountancy profession. Paul Henry takes over as Chair from Mike McKeon CA, President of ICAS (the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland). During his two year tenure, Paul will lead the CCAB’s work in identifying and capitalising on the opportunities that the rapid pace of change in the business and accountancy world brings in 2020. Equally he will lead the CCAB’s response to the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19 for its members and the wider business community.  Commenting on his appointment, Paul said: “I look forward to engaging with as many members and stakeholders as possible in the coming months to help our profession to adapt to all the changes that affect us, from rapid technological advancements to increased regulatory requirements. This of course all takes place in the context of a business community worldwide that is facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on the way we all live and conduct business.  “Another area of focus for me in the coming 2 years will be strengthening the reputation of our industry to ensure that we can attract the best and brightest individuals. The lifeblood of any profession is the young talent that chooses to join its ranks.” Paul Henry is a Director with Belfast based property consultancy Osborne King and has extensive experience of real estate, insolvency and corporate finance. A resident of Belfast, he qualified with Pricewaterhouse in 1989. Prior to his current role, he held positions with the Industrial Development Board, Enterprise Equity, PricewaterhouseCoopers and ASM Chartered Accountants.  He also served as Chairman of Chartered Accountants Ulster Society in 2014.  The CCAB was established in 1988 to coordinate the representation functions of the participant professional bodies in areas of common interest to the profession. It has a number of committees which respond to Government and regulatory initiatives in their respective areas.

Tuesday's announcement that Revenue is to query claims made by 55,000 Irish businesses for temporary wage subsidies is very unhelpful to Irish industry which already has so much to deal with.  While claims for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme should of course be policed, the announcement that Revenue is to correspond with so many Irish businesses runs counter to their previous indication that vetting would only take place at the end of the scheme.  Claiming the Temporary Wage Subsidy depended on eligibility, and businesses were asked to self-assess their entitlement. The blanket enquiry approach suggests that no attempt is being made to identify risky claims by the authorities.  All claimants of the scheme are to have their names published, and all employees are clear from their payslips that their employer is claiming money through the scheme.  These very public checks should go a significant way towards satisfying the authorities that the process is transparent.    Commenting, Norah Collender, Professional Tax Leader at Chartered Accountants Ireland said       “Carrying out blanket enquiries of this nature the very week that so many businesses are trying to reopen signals an indifference to the plight of many businesses. We are calling on Revenue to defer any compliance interventions until the Autumn. This will help businesses to focus on getting back to work rather than having to deal with Revenue correspondence following their enforced shutdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic.”  The Revenue Commissioners have to date been exemplary in their response to dealing with the pandemic, and in particular, their operation of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme has been deservedly praised.  Unfortunately, this blanket and unselective compliance measure, launched at this critical juncture, could undermine much of the good work and a lot of goodwill established in recent weeks.    Ends   

For most, figuring out parenting and your career is difficult. It can be even more so if you are an LGBT parent. Peter Keenan-Gavaghan explains how the support from his organisation enabled him and his husband to make the leap into parenthood while growing his career. Balancing a career and a family is always a juggling act. However, when your family does not fit the traditional model, it can also prove to be a minefield for all concerned, especially at work. Societal expectations of parental roles, parental names and second glances are only a few of the factors that need to be thought about before LGBT people become parents. Despite having made the decision to have children early in our relationship, it took my husband and I eight years before our son arrived into the world. With both of us being working professionals, the process of family planning started in the traditional way: how do we balance parenthood, careers and our relationship? We quickly realised that we also needed to consider society. In the end, some of it came down to practicalities, and some came down to our own values, preferences and external supports.  Parental leave One area we had to consider was managing early childcare. My firm gives enhanced paid parental leave regardless of gender and this played a big part in our decision that I would be the stay at home dad for the first seven months of our son's life, with my husband returning to work on a reduced work week. Without the seven-month paid parental leave from my firm, our family would be much different position starting out – and certainly disadvantaged compared to mums going on leave. It’s important that not only the people in an organisation are supportive to LGBT families, but that the support is reflected in the HR policies and procedures. Creating a network We always knew we would need to navigate the potential assumptions from colleagues and clients that there is a ‘mum’ at home. We quickly realised that if social assumptions were to change, we needed to be proud of our family, and not place each other back in the closet. Having same-sex parents is nothing new in Barclays. Indeed, when we were investigating how we would become parents, one of the first ports of call was Barclays LGBT network, Spectrum. There we got a greater understanding of fostering, adoption and surrogacy. The network also holds regular talks on ‘non-traditional' parenting to educate colleagues on how they can become parents and continue to build their career. While nothing would have stopped my husband and me from having our son, the information and support gained from the LGBT network in my organisation eased the process for us (as much as to-be parents can be eased when planning for their first) and normalises families like ours to colleagues and clients. Before going on paternity leave, my team did the traditional baby gift presentation and I was invited to expectant parents’ events. This not only showed support but also demonstrated inclusivity. Talent retention What I have found since going back to work is that I have become more focused and flexible. Because Barclays gave me the information on parental leave, the precious first months with my son, and the flexibility to alter my working hours to the typical parent’s life without judgements or assumptions, they have retained a committed employee and have helped create a happy family. Peter Keenan-Gavaghan is Vice President of Barclays Internal Audit – RFT & Functions Technology.

Chartered Accountants Ireland has responded to the announcement this afternoon by Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, TD that the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) is to be extended until the end of August.  In the face of unprecedented disruption following the arrival of COVID-19, the swift introduction of this Government scheme has been a vital lifeline for businesses since March.  By retaining that crucial link between employer and employee, it not only provided immediate support for businesses but also positions them as strongly as possible for recovery when the time comes. Dr Brian Keegan, Director of Public Policy at Chartered Accountants Ireland said “Ireland’s subsidy scheme compares extremely favourably with similar initiatives worldwide, and credit is due to the Revenue Commissioners for in effect putting the PAYE system into reverse to make the scheme work effectively.  “Today’s extension of the TWSS brings much needed clarity for businesses at a time when the economy is gradually being reawakened. It allows businesses to plan for the coming months with a greater degree of confidence.”

Supporting post-COVID economic recovery will be top priority for largest accounting body. Following today’s AGM, the gender balance of the Institute’s Council stands at 50:50.  Paul Henry has been elected President of Chartered Accountants Ireland for 2020/2021 at its 132nd Annual General Meeting today, held virtually for the first time. Addressing the Chartered Accountants Ireland AGM, Mr Henry said his key priority as President of Ireland’s largest accounting body would be to harness the ability, experience and expertise of its membership network to support economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addressing the challenges of COVID-19, he said: “This is, of course primarily a public health crisis and businesses have rightly taken unprecedented steps to protect their staff and the public. “As we come through the immediate threat of the pandemic, we will face the significant challenge of rebuilding the economies of the island of Ireland. I believe that our 28,500 members working in leadership, finance or advisory roles throughout Irish business, will play a key role in kick-starting the recovery and ensuring that business bounces back strongly. “It will be the challenge of a generation, requiring a collaborative approach between business, political leaders and the public sector. Chartered Accountants Ireland will be a strong supporter and advocate for the business community and the positive impact that a renewed economy can have for all throughout our society.” Mr Henry said that as well as supporting its current members, Chartered Accountants Ireland would work to highlight the opportunities available to a new generation of potential trainees within the profession. He said: “Economic rebuilding will create opportunities, particularly in finance and leadership roles. We believe that Chartered Accountancy training is the best possible business education and is more flexible than ever before, creating great opportunities for those seeking to train, whether they are a school-leaver or an experienced business professional.” Mr Henry, who takes over as President from Conall O’Halloran, is a Director with Belfast based property consultancy Osborne King and has extensive experience of real estate, insolvency and corporate finance. A resident of Belfast, Mr Henry qualified with Pricewaterhouse in 1989. Prior to his current role, he held positions with the Industrial Development Board, Enterprise Equity, PricewaterhouseCoopers and ASM Chartered Accountants.  He also served as Chairman of Chartered Accountants Ulster Society in 2014. At today’s AGM, Pat O’Neill was elected Deputy President of Chartered Accountants Ireland. Sinead Donovan was elected Vice-President. Following today’s AGM, the gender balance of the Institute’s Council stands at 50:50. Progress is also being recorded at wider membership level, which is currently 42 per cent female and 58 per cent male. ENDS For more information:  Jill Farrelly PR and Communications Manager Chartered Accountants Ireland jill.farrelly@charteredaccountants.ie/087 738 6608 About Chartered Accountants Ireland Chartered Accountants Ireland is Ireland’s largest and longest established professional body of accountants founded in 1888. The Institute, which is an all-island body, currently represents over 28,500 members around the world. Chartered Accountants Ireland is a founding member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide, the global alliance that brings together over 1.8 million Chartered accountants and students in more than 185 countries. Update For a synopsis of press coverage arising, please see here.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chartered Accountants Ireland has worked with training firms, regulators, CASSI (the student representative body) and other stakeholders to consider all options, to ensure that the 2020 examinations take place.   In the current circumstances, Chartered Accountants Ireland, in partnership with our training firms, has announced its intention to move to remote “live” proctored (invigilated) E-Assessment for the 2020 examinations for CAP1, CAP2 and FAE. This decision was communicated to all students earlier this week, as well as the supports to be made available to students in transitioning to E-Assessments and key exam dates.     Director of Education & Training with Chartered Accountants Ireland, Ronan O’Loughlin, said:  “The Institute’s aim throughout has been and remains to provide training firms and students with the certainty of examinations in 2020, while putting the health and well-being of students, staff and other parties at the core of the issue.   The Institute acknowledges the support and assistance we have received to date from all firms, in carefully assessing the options available. Indeed, this cooperation and support has enabled the progress made to date.”  More information on the workings of E-Assessments, supports for students and key dates is available here: EAssessment May 2020. 

In these uniquely challenging circumstances, how can accountants support non-profits? Patricia Quinn and Paula Nyland tell us that thoughtful and clear-eyed planning is needed to mitigate the challenges facing these organisations. Stories from the non-profit sector can paint a bleak picture of services threatened, vulnerable people at risk, fundraising decimated, and mature non-profit businesses facing unprecedented challenges to their viability. The emergency €40 million funding package provided by Government for the non-profit sector will go a ways towards buying some much-needed time, allowing these non-commercial businesses to take stock, regroup and renew their operations. If you look at the thousands of non-profits listed on Benefacts public website, you can see that the sector is highly diverse. At one end, there are heavily staffed health and social care service providers that derive most of their funding from the State in exchange for providing essential services. At the other end, there are thousands of small, local associations and clubs that rely mostly on donations and volunteer effort. These are uniquely challenging circumstances for non-profits and accountants have an important role to play in supporting them – whether as professional advisors or as voluntary Board members. As analysts of sector data, these are the kinds of situations Benefacts has encountered: Dependency on fundraising and donations is high, with almost €0.9 billion reported in the most recent financial statements of all the companies in Benefacts Database of Irish Non-profits. The pandemic has decimated traditional interactive fundraising in its many forms – whether event-driven, church gate collections or calling to homes to sign up to direct debits. Some high-profile campaigns have mitigated this, such as Pieta House, which raised €2 million after a push on social media, but this is only a third of the €6 million raised by last year’s ‘Darkness Into Light’ walk, with no alternative project to fill the €4 million gap. Online fundraising simply does not have the same impact. Many non-profits do not hold an adequate level of reserves. A good rule of thumb accepted by some Government funders is 10 weeks of operational expenditure. Sadly, few non-profits enjoy this level of security. In fact, many Government funders actively discourage the holding of reserves, with the result that several non-profits operate a ‘hand-to-mouth’ existence in terms of cash. Although the cost base of larger non-profits reflects the labour-intensive nature of their work, Benefacts analysis shows that in the case of many smaller non-profits (i.e. less than €250,000), non-payroll expenditure amounts to some 70% of their cost base. This means the COVID-19 subsidy will be of limited value. The demand for services is higher, and the costs of delivery will increase with the cost of delivering care with social distancing restrictions still active. This will have far-reaching effects in homelessness services, respite, residential care, and many more service areas dominated by non-profits. In the voluntary housing sector, income support payments have helped maintain rent payments but, without a further injection of funding, it will become harder to meet the demand for housing given the likely consequences for the coming recession for the building sector. Inevitably, the current focus is on the immediate issues, but for the medium-term, thoughtful and clear-eyed planning will be needed. Directors and trustees need to be looking at cash flow projections, potential increases in demand, and commitments to continued government support. Without this, sector leaders are telling us that tough decisions may be needed to cut services as early as Q3 2020. Although the emergency fund is very welcome, many organisations will need an early commitment of future government funding into 2021 and beyond to maintain essential services. The alternative could be closures, with all the unthinkable consequences for the most vulnerable in our society.   Patricia Quinn is the Managing Director of Benefacts. Paula Nyland is the Head of Finance at Benefacts.

The Revenue FAQs on the scheme are updated to version 8.  The main FAQ update includes the changes to the criteria for eligible employees to include certain employers who missed the 15 March payroll deadline for their February 2020 payroll.   Updated guidance on Employer Eligibility and Supporting Proofs for the scheme was also published  (20 April).  Both documents answer some of the common questions from members on the scheme.     The updates cover:  Staff transfers under TUPE – confirmed now in FAQs at 2.10 and Employer Eligibility and Supporting Proofs (pg 4). Treatment for group companies – confirmed in Employer Eligibility and Supporting Proofs (pg 4) Treatment for individual business divisions – confirmed in Employer Eligibility and Supporting Proofs (pg 2) Reduction in turnover test – further information and examples in Employer Eligibility and Supporting Proofs (pg 2 and pg 3) Operating the scheme from 16 April to support employees whose average net weekly pay was greater than €960, and their current gross pay is below €960 per week – information in the FAQs  Phase 2 of the scheme effective from 4 May – information now in the FAQs Revised employee eligibility criteria for wage subsidy scheme – section 3 of FAQs You are reminded that the scheme is provided for in legislation, section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020.  If you wish to cross check a reference to the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, you can do so on the Institute online version on TaxSource.    The Institute is constantly engaging with Revenue to seek clarifications on the operation of the Wage Subsidy Scheme.  The FAQ guidance has been revised eight times now since originally published, often to reflect the answers to the queries we have obtained.  We are reporting all updates on our COVID-19 hub and we are keeping our dedicated Wage Subsidy Scheme webpage up to date with relevant information.    

Members can now visit our dedicated UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”) page, which provides guidance on the scheme announced on 20 March 2020. Download our new factsheet on the who, what, where, when and why of the scheme. Last week the Institute’s UK Taxation Specialist Leontia Doran took part in an Ulster Society webinar on the CJRS. The online CJRS calculator has also now been updated. HMRC have also advised us today that payments for claims made on Monday 20 April will be in employers’ bank accounts by tomorrow (28‌‌ April). Readers are also advised that the CJRS guidance has been updated again. You are advised to bookmark these links and print a copy of the guidance which applied at the time you submit your claim for the CJRS grant. The updated guidance is available at the following links: Employee guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-could-be-covered-by-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme Employer guidance, page 1: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme Employer guidance, page 2: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme Employer guidance, page 3: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wages-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme Employer guidance, RTI: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reporting-payments-in-paye-real-time-information-from-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme Now that the scheme is up and running we’d like to hear about your experiences of the scheme and online portal. HMRC also advise that any issues being experienced should also be reported to them via the online Agent Forum so that they can triage and respond to widespread issues more quickly. Remember, in order to do so you must have signed up for and be logged into the Forum. All agents, who are a member of a professional body, are invited to join HMRC’s Agent Forum. This dedicated Agent Forum is hosted in a private area within the HMRC’s Online Customer Forum. You can interact with other agents and HMRC experts to discuss topical issues and processes. The following live webinar provides a step-by-step guide on how to make a claim through the scheme: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – How to make a claim: choose a date and time During this webinar HMRC will be taking you through the following steps: essential information before you make your claim calculating your claim processing your claim after submitting your claim. If you’ve missed any of HMRC’s other recent webinars, or have been unable to join, you can view a recording on HMRC’s YouTube channel. HMRC have also sent the below update on the CJRS which contains important advice for claimants. “More than 285,000 businesses have already applied for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme since it went live on Monday 20 April. Accessing the system We have noticed that some people have had difficulty accessing the system because they do not have an active PAYE enrolment. In order to make a claim they will need to: have a Government Gateway (GG) ID and password – if they don’t already have a GG account, they can apply here, or by going to GOV.UK and searching for 'HMRC services: sign in or register'; be enrolled for PAYE online – if they aren’t registered yet, they can do so now, or by going to GOV.UK and searching for 'PAYE Online for employers'. I’m pleased to say that we were able to investigate and resolve the issue quickly thanks to the agents who raised an issue with authorisations when the new system first went live on Monday morning. Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Calculator We are updating the online calculator tool so that it covers more employment circumstances this afternoon. The update will mean that employers can use it to work out what they can claim for most employees who are paid irregular amounts each pay period, as well as those who are paid fixed amounts. Webinars now available To support businesses, we have been offering live webinars on a variety of Covid-19 related topics, including the Job Retention Scheme and how to make a JRS claim. Employers can book a place on our 'how to' JRS webinars here. They can book a place on any of our other webinars or watch a recording on HMRC’s YouTube channel If employers have already made a claim Employers should retain all records and calculations for their claims, in case we need to contact them. Provided their claim is made in accordance with HMRC’s published guidance, they can expect to receive the funds six working days after their application. We ask them not to contact us before this time. HMRC will check claims made through the scheme and will act to protect public money against anyone who makes a claim using dishonest or fraudulent information. We continue to be busy supporting customers at this time, so we would ask that they only call us if they can’t find what they need on GOV.UK or through our webchat service - this will leave our lines open for those who need our help most. We’d encourage all employers to also protect their own credentials from potential scammers and opportunist criminal activity.”

  Revenue published updated guidance on Employer Eligibility and Supporting Proofs for the scheme (20 April).  Updated FAQs, now version 7, has also been published (21 April).  Both documents answer some of the common questions from members on the scheme.    The updates cover: Staff transfers under TUPE – confirmed now in FAQs at 2.10 and Employer Eligibility and Supporting Proofs (pg 4). Treatment for group companies – confirmed in Employer Eligibility and Supporting Proofs (pg 4) Treatment for individual business divisions – confirmed in Employer Eligibility and Supporting Proofs (pg 2) Reduction in turnover test – further information and examples in Employer Eligibility and Supporting Proofs (pg 2 and pg 3)      Operating the scheme from 16 April to support employees whose average net weekly pay was greater than €960, and their current gross pay is below €960 per week – information in the FAQs  Phase 2 of the scheme effective from 4 May – information now in the FAQs You are reminded that the scheme is provided for in legislation, section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020.  If you wish to cross check a reference to the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, you can do so on the Institute online version on TaxSource.   We continue to correspond with Revenue to obtain timely clarifications and answers to members’ questions. We will report relevant updates as we receive them.    For more, visit our dedicated Wage Subsidy Scheme page on the COVID-19 Hub.

We have published a resource for members providing guidance on the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”), which was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Friday 20 March 2020. The content has been derived entirely from HMRC’s guidance and communications directly to Chartered Accountants Ireland on the CJRS. We will be developing a similar page in the coming weeks to provide guidance on the coronavirus self-employment income support scheme which is due to begin making payments by early June 2020. We have also developed an Institute factsheet on the UK Government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme that sets out key information on the W5 (who, what, where, when and why) of the scheme. The Institute will continue to engage with HMRC on our members behalf in respect of COVID-19 supports and will share the most up to date information as it becomes available.

Now available: a dedicated page on the COVID-19 Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme This page is a summary of advice for members on the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. Updated daily, it is providing the Institute's advice on the scheme under the following headings: Employer eligibility Publication of employers Treatment of employer top-up payments Revenue reconciliation Dealing with Revenue  Clarifications from Revenue  For more information see also Revenue’s guidance and Revenue’s FAQs, which are being updated regularly.  

Under the terms of the scheme, an employer can make an additional payment or ‘top-up-payment’ to their employee to fully or partially make up the difference between the amount provided by the subsidy scheme and the employee’s Average Net Weekly Pay.   According to updates to Revenue’s FAQs (section 1.6) published yesterday, such additional payment cannot be regrossed, the payment is treated as gross pay and liable to Income Tax and USC according to the employee’s tax credits and rate bands.   The legislation (Part 7) is silent on the calculation of the ‘top-up-payment’ and the treatment of such payment, so much depends on Revenue’s operation of the scheme and their guidance.   Such guidance is updated regularly, the FAQs are at version 5 since their first publication two weeks back.  We therefore recommend that members review the current Revenue guidance and keep a watch out for our timely updates which we are publishing to our COVID hub.  We will continue our regular engagement with Revenue and other government agencies to clarify operation of the scheme and other related tax measures.  Revenue has also added examples to the FAQ document (sections 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3) showing how to calculate the Average Net Weekly Pay, the impact of the ‘top-up-payment on the amount of the subsidy the employer will receive and the PRSI class.  It is worth reviewing the examples to better understand how Revenue are operating the scheme.   Please also bear in mind that the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme is a government measure to provide financial assistance to employers and support their efforts to retain employees.  Any payments or repayments to Revenue under the scheme are to/from employers, not too and from employees.    Some details on the Revenue reconciliation of refunds received and amounts due to employers under the scheme are included.  Revenue say that further details on how they will administer the reconciliation and recover any amounts owing to them will be published in due course.     

We are receiving a high volume of queries regarding the Wage Subsidy Scheme and also other tax matters arising from the impacts of COVID-19, due to the issues showing up and the changes made by Revenue to the administration of the tax system.  We are endeavouring to respond to the volume of queries and engage with Revenue while also keep up to date on the changes.     Please note that we continue to contact Revenue regularly at a high level on all tax matters relating to Covid-19. We are requesting clarification on a number of issues raised by members.  We have also requested clarification from Revenue on a number of further issues raised on the Wage Subsidy Scheme.     We understand the difficulties and confusion for members, particularly those involved in payroll processing and related services.   We are working to obtain timely clarifications and as we receive relevant updates we are advising all people via the appropriate channels.     Please check in regularly on the COVID-19 Hub for latest updates.   

From a governance perspective, COVID-19 will test the robustness of our legislation and our ability to take a more technological, and perhaps modern, approach, writes Claire Lord. The Irish Government recently announced additional measures to protect citizens by delaying the spread of COVID-19. One of these measures is social distancing, which requires individuals to keep a two-metre space between them and other people. This measure and the increasing restrictions on international travel is making it difficult for Irish companies to hold ‘in-person’ board meetings and to proceed with shareholder meetings, particularly annual general meetings (AGMs), in the usual way. Against this backdrop, what can companies do to allow business to proceed so as to comply with the law while protecting the health of its directors, employees and shareholders? Board meetings Generally speaking, the board of an Irish company can meet ‘virtually’. This means that board meetings can be conducted by telephone, video conference or a similar facility. For a virtual board meeting to be properly convened, all directors must be able to hear each other and speak to each other. At a virtual board meeting, the quorum is made up of those participating in the meeting. All participating directors are entitled to vote in the usual way and the location of the meeting, consequent on social distancing requirements, is likely to be the location of the chair. The board of an Irish company can also usually pass resolutions in writing. For a written resolution to be valid, it must be signed by all directors of the company at that time. A written resolution takes effect when the last signature is collected. A written resolution can be signed in counterpart and can be circulated and signed electronically. The fully signed version must be retained with the minute book of the company. The written resolution procedure can be used even if one of the directors is not permitted to vote. Where this is the case, the remaining directors sign the resolution and note the name of the director who is not entitled to vote and the reason why. It is always recommended that a directors’ meeting is held where the business to be transacted is contentious, or if it is anticipated that the business to be approved will not be supported unanimously. Directors must also meet where they are required to make a declaration of the company’s solvency as part of the summary approval procedure to approve certain restricted activities. Where these circumstances exist, meeting “virtually” is sufficient. The board of a company must also consider the location of its board meetings or decision-making where it is important from a tax residency perspective for them to be able to demonstrate that the company is managed and controlled in Ireland. Shareholder meetings Companies with AGMs due to occur in the months ahead should consider how best to proceed with their AGMs in a way that complies with the law, and affords shareholders the ability to participate, while observing the Government’s restrictions on mass gatherings. An AGM must have a physical location that is specified in the AGM notice. The quorum for an AGM is determined based on the number of shareholders present in person or by proxy, usually at the physical location of the meeting. Therefore, to avoid a large  number of shareholders attending at the physical location for the meeting, shareholders should be encouraged to appoint a proxy to attend and vote on their behalf. Ideally, shareholders should be encouraged to appoint the same proxy where possible (while always considering how a quorum will be achieved).   While an AGM must have a physical location, a company can permit participation by shareholders at an AGM via technology, once that technology permits shareholders to participate and vote electronically.   Multi-member and single-member private companies limited by shares (LTDs) and single-member companies of other types can dispense with the legal requirement to hold an AGM by opting to carry out the business of the AGM by way of a unanimous written resolution.  Similarly, all company types can pass resolutions in writing.  In the case of LTDs and designated activity companies (DACs), this right applies regardless of any provisions in the company’s constitution.  Similarly, LTDs and DACs can pass majority written resolutions where a particular process is followed. Business as usual? We face significant uncertainty in the months ahead with the spread of COVID-19. Finding ways to conduct business regardless, while protecting the health of others, will test our ingenuity. From a governance perspective, it will allow us to see if our legislation is robust enough to support a more technological and, dare I say it, modern approach.   Claire Lord is a Corporate Partner and Head of Governance and Compliance at Mason Hayes & Curran.

Covid 19 is causing an unprecedented shock to the global business world.  As well as the business risks, companies and their auditors are facing many practical difficulties in preparing financial statements and conducting audits.  There is a great deal of uncertainty as to how the Covid-19 situation will continue to evolve.  We aim to provide links to relevant up to date advice and guidance and we will monitor developments continually and will update and add material over the coming months.  With input from members in practice dealing with these challenges daily we have developed a number of Frequently Asked Questions on auditing matters that are of particular relevance in the current climate and we will add further information and additional topics as they arise.   Published 30 March 2020