Representatives from the Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, met with the Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath T.D and his team earlier this week to discuss CCAB-I’s pre-Budget 2024 submission. The need to simplify the tax system and reduce the administrative burden on businesses was discussed, as were the complexities experienced by small businesses, in particular, when availing of several of the business tax reliefs. The importance of long-term investment in critical infrastructure, not least housing, in order to maintain Ireland’s position as a competitive place to do businesses and also to retain and attract talent was also highlighted.  

In Irish news, Revenue has published guidance on EU reporting obligations for platform operators and we bring you news that Revenue is to make contact with certain entities that have not filed corporation tax returns. In UK news, HMRC is launching a form over the summer which can be used to obtain details of overlap relief for basis period reform, and the Government will be reporting annually on tax simplification, both of which are previous recommendations of Chartered Accountants Ireland. In International news, the European Commission publishes a progress report on Pillar One.  Ireland Revenue has published a new guidance on how new EU reporting obligations for platform operators will operate in Ireland. Revenue has informed us that it intends to issue Level 1 compliance intervention notices to taxpayers who registered for Corporation Tax and have not filed Corporation Tax returns for years up to and including 2021. UK Read in our miscellaneous HMRC updates about HMRC launching a form over the summer which can be used to obtain details of overlap relief for basis period reform. The Government will be reporting annually on tax simplification. International The European Commission recently published a progress report on Pillar One. Keep up to date with all the latest Irish, UK, and international tax developments through Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Tax Newsletter. Subscribe to the Tax News by updating your preferences in MyAccount.          

Section 739J(3) TCA 1997 obliges investment limited partnerships (ILPs) to file a statement annually using Form ILP1. The filing deadline for Form ILP1 in respect of the year of assessment 2022 is extended to 14 September 2023. A new version of the Form ILP1 is now available on the Collective investment vehicles webpage, in the Related Forms panel of the Revenue website and should be used for filings in respect of the year of assessment 2022. As noted on page 1 of the Form ILP1, filing should be completed electronically and returned to Revenue via MyEnquiries to largecasesdiv@revenue.ie. The Form ILP1 has been updated by the addition of the following panels: Name of Signatory in plain text; Net Asset Value of the ILP at the end of year of assessment; General Overview of business activities carried out by the ILP in the year of assessment; Details of any Material Transactions carried out by the ILP in the year of assessment; Details of any transactions entered into with persons connected with any partner in the ILP in the year of assessment; Disclosure of Assets held by ILP at end of year of assessment (which includes disclosure of asset type, location, and value); and Detailed guidance notes attached to the updated Form ILP1 to assist completion of the statement, including practical examples illustrating level of detail required.

Revenue has amended Chapter 27 of the Pensions Manual which deals with the taxation of retirement lump sums to provide further information on the tax and filing obligations for excess lump sums. Instructions are included as to when Revenue Payroll Notifications and the Form 790AA should be submitted, and the details required.

Revenue has updated its Tax and Duty Manual titled “Guide to Exchange of Information under Council Directive 2011/16/EU, Ireland’s Double Taxation Agreements and Tax Information Exchange Agreements and the OECD/Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters”. The updated manual now includes an appendix with details of the exchange agreements Revenue has in place under various Automatic Exchange of Information frameworks.

Revenue has published a new Tax and Duty Manual to provide general guidance on how new EU reporting obligations for platform operators will operate in Ireland. The Council Directive 2011/16/EU (DAC) which provides for the automatic exchange of information between the tax administrations of EU Member States was amended by Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 (DAC7) in 2021 to extend the scope of the existing DAC provisions. With effect from 1 January 2023, DAC7 obliges certain platform operators to collect and automatically report information on certain sellers using their platform to earn consideration. It is intended that the information obtained will assist Member States in addressing the tax challenges posed by the platform economy.

Revenue has published an updated Tax and Duty Manual on EU sanctions in response to the situation in Ukraine to include updated legislative references (paragraph 2), details of the 11th sanctions package (paragraph 4), and advice on the circumvention of sanctions (paragraph 6).

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual regarding rent-a-room relief to include material on the rent tax credit (in paragraph 7.2). In addition, obsolete material on owner occupier relief under certain property-based tax incentive schemes and relief from stamp duty for first time buyers and certain owner occupiers have been deleted.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual regarding the treatment of certain patent royalties paid to companies that are resident outside the State. The updates in paragraph 5 clarify the notification requirements for companies availing of the administrative practice set out in the manual.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual on relevant contracts tax (RCT) for subcontractors to include a new section 9 which deals with the incorrect operation of RCT by a Principal.

Ireland is committed to introduce legislation applying to outbound payments to prevent double non-taxation. The Department of Finance intends to fulfil this commitment via legislation in Finance (No.2) Bill 2023. Building on a previous public consultation, the Department of Finance has published a feedback statement seeking views from stakeholders on the possible draft legislative approach to achieve the objectives. The consultation period runs until Tuesday 8 August 2023. Any member wishing to contribute to this consultation can provide their feedback here.

Revenue has informed us that it intends to issue a notice to taxpayers who registered for Corporation Tax and have not filed Corporation Tax returns for years up to and including 2021. The notice is a Level 1 Compliance Intervention in accordance with Revenue’s Compliance Intervention Framework. Notices are expected to issue in the coming days, via Revenue’s online system (ROS) and by post, to taxpayers with outstanding corporation returns and their agents. Revenue has noted that the non-filing of a required tax return can result in a more detailed review by Revenue and is a prosecutable offence. The late filing of a return for Corporation Tax may result in the restriction of certain reliefs.