Revenue has published three new VAT manuals on the treatment of clothing, human medicines and animal medicines.

Revenue has updated its Tax and Duty Manual  for State aid granted to individuals reflecting the new publication thresholds outlined in the Agricultural Block Exemption Regulation and Finance Act 2023. The publication threshold has been reduced from €60,000 to €10,000.

Revenue has updated its Stamp Duty Manual where duty is to be charged on Irish securities which transferred electronically in accordance with Part 6 SDCA 1999.

Revenue has published a new manual containing guidance on section 83DA SDCA 1999. This new section, introduced in Finance 2022, provides for a full repayment of stamp duty where a residential property is sold for the purposes of an affordable dwelling purchase arrangement under the Affordable Housing Act 2021, within 12 months of its acquisition. The section is effective from 1 June 2023.

Revenue has published a new manual containing guidance on section 83DB SDCA 1999. This new section, introduced in Finance Act 2022, provides a partial repayment of stamp duty where residential property is let under a qualifying lease, including lettings to a housing authority or other approved housing body. The new section amalgamates two pre-existing schemes under sections 83E and 83F SDCA 1999 (both now repealed).

Revenue has updated its Tax and Duty Manual on claiming the rent tax credit. The guidance now includes further information for taxpayers using ROS and those using MyAccount. There is also further information on obtaining the Residential Tenancies Board registration number and for landlords who prefer to report directly to Revenue.

Revenue has published a new manual providing guidance on the new online Non-resident Landlord Withholding Tax (NLWT) system. This system will be operational from 1 July 2023. Finance Act 2022 introduced key changes to the withholding tax provisions for non-resident landlords. Whilst the withholding tax requirement has been a long-standing albeit much maligned feature of Irish tax legislation, collection agents or tenants paying directly to landlords are no longer chargeable persons. The new NLWT system will enable tenants or collection agents to make Rental Notifications when making payments to the non-resident landlord. The notification and accompanying payment need to be submitted within 21 days of the rental payment.

The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) guidelines have been updated in line with the Finance Act 2023 changes. Chartered Accountants Ireland advocated for these changes back in February. The key changes are the extension of the scheme to 31 July 2023, a reduction in the energy costs threshold to 30 percent, and an increase in the overall payment to 50 percent of eligible costs.

The National Economic Dialogue (NED) 2023, is taking place today, 12 June, in Dublin Castle. The theme of the forum, hosted by both the Department of Finance and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, is “the economy in 2030: enabling a sustainable future for all.” The NED provides a forum for public consultation and discussion ahead of Budget 2024 later this year. The Institute is being represented at the forum by Cróna Clohisey, Tax and Public Policy Lead. Further information on the event including a link to the livestream can be found on gov.ie. We will provide members with information from the event in Tax News next week.

The Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath TD, has published an analysis by his department entitled Future-proofing the Public Finances – the Next Steps. A key recommendation in the analysis is the establishment of a long-term public savings vehicle to ensure that windfall corporation tax receipts are not used to fund permanent expenditure increases or tax reductions. Secondly, such a fund could contribute to meeting budgetary pressures in the future. The report also notes that, under almost all of scenarios simulated, the drawdowns from such a long-term public savings vehicle would still not be sufficient to cover the full increase in ageing-related costs expected by 2030. Therefore further reforms to the pension system – including increases to the rate of PRSI – will be required. Commenting on the scoping paper, Minister McGrath said: “The analysis published by my department today highlights some of the vulnerabilities the public finances face from both revenue and expenditure perspectives. On the revenue side, while the headline budgetary accounts look to be in very good shape, this is largely the result of corporation tax receipts, which have increased more than five-fold in the past decade. My department estimates that around half of these receipts could be potentially transitory in nature. Looking ahead, Government is also aware of the major expenditure challenges on the horizon. Shifting demographics and adapting to the climate and digital transitions will impose large costs on the public finances. While the Irish demographic picture is currently favourable, developments in the coming decades will mean that we will be spending significantly more just to maintain the current level of service, all because of an ageing population. The paper my department published today outlines some of the options available to Government to help to mitigate against these risks to the public finances. Taking into account this analysis, it is my intention to bring forward proposals for a long-term savings vehicle which will be used to pre-fund part of the future costs of structural change. The paper also discusses different approaches to using the windfall receipts including for a new long-term savings vehicle, and using a portion to pay down debt and for additional, targeted capital investment. I was pleased to brief cabinet on this paper yesterday. Subject to government approval, setting up such a long-term savings vehicle will require primary legislation.” Further information is available on gov.ie.

The Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath TD, has welcomed European Commission approval of the enhancements to the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) announced in Finance Bill 2023.The approval has been received under the State Aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF). The enhancements announced in the Finance Bill (and which were called for by the Institute) include: Extending the scheme to 31 May 2023, with the option to further extend the scheme by Ministerial Order to not later than 31 July 2023, Reducing, with effect from 1 September 2022, the energy cost threshold for qualification for the scheme from a 50 percent increase in electricity or gas costs to a 30 percent increase, and Increasing, from 1 March 2023, the level of relief from 40 percent to 50 percent of eligible costs. The time limit for making claims under the scheme has also been extended. The enhancements are in addition to amendments made in February 2023 to increase the monthly limit to €15,000 per qualifying business in relation to a trade or profession, subject to an overall cap of €45,000 in cases where a business is carried on from more than one location. These changes took effect from 1 March 2023. Commenting, Minister McGrath said: “I am pleased to note that the European Commission has approved the enhancements to TBESS brought forward in Finance Bill 2023. These changes, in particular the lower entry threshold for the scheme, which is backdated to September 2022, will ensure that additional businesses can benefit from this vital support and I encourage businesses who have not already done so to register for and submit claims under the scheme.” As of 20 April, 28,035 businesses have registered for the scheme. Revenue has approved 35,613 claims to the value of €77.6 million.

Revenue has updated the TBESS guidelines to reflect the enhancements introduced in Finance Bill 2023. A qualifying business can submit claims on Revenue’s Online Service (ROS) for the March and April 2023 claim periods from Monday 17 April 2023. From the week commencing 24 April 2023, Revenue will begin reassessing claims already submitted for the period from 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023 based on the revised 30 percent energy costs threshold. This means that it will not be necessary for a business to revise claims already submitted for these periods. Once claims have been reassessed, the business will receive a notification to their ROS inbox confirming the reassessment has occurred after which the payment due to the business will be processed. The updated TBESS guidelines also contain deemed reference unit prices for the May 2022 reference period, as provided by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (based on data provided by suppliers and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities). Further information is available in eBrief no. 096/23.