As previously advised the Institute will be responding to the following consultations and wants to hear your views: Electronic invoicing: promoting e-invoicing across UK businesses and the public sector and Reforms to Inheritance Tax agricultural property relief and business property relief: application in relation to trusts. This week is your last opportunity to email tax@charteredaccountants.ie and share your views on the inheritance tax consultation.  April 2026 changes to Inheritance Tax (IHT) reliefs - agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR)  As many readers will be aware, at Autumn Budget 2024 the Government announced controversial reforms to two key IHT reliefs, APR and BPR, which will commence from April 2026.   In particular:  a new £1 million allowance will apply to the combined value of property that qualifies for 100 percent BPR or APR or both - after the £1 million allowance has been exhausted, relief will apply at a lower rate of 50 percent to the combined value of qualifying agricultural and business property, and the rate of BPR will be reduced from 100 percent to 50 percent in all circumstances for shares admitted to trading on a recognised stock exchange which are not ‘listed’ HMRC has launched a limited technical consultation on this issue. Note that this is not seeking views on the overall policy change but is only examining aspects of the application of the £1 million allowance for property settled into trust qualifying for 100 percent APR or BPR. As this is a technical consultation, it is running for a shorter period of time to Wednesday 23 April 2025.  The Institute is aware of the damaging impact that these reforms will have on businesses and farms in Northern Ireland and in November 2024 flagged these concerns to the Government. We would encourage members to take the opportunity to respond to this limited technical consultation and express their wider views on this damaging policy change. You can respond by using the online form or by email to aprbpr.consult@hmrc.gov.uk.  The Institute again encourages you to share your views on these policy changes as we will again be writing to the Government to highlight the particular damage these changes will cause in Northern Ireland. Please email tax@charteredaccountants.ie by Friday 11 April 2025 with your views.  Electronic invoicing  The purpose of this consultation is to gather views on standardising electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) and how to increase adoption of e-invoicing across UK businesses and the public sector. The consultation explores how different e-invoicing approaches may align with businesses and aims to support the development of a UK approach. The consultation will run to 7 May 2025. Please share your views with us by Friday 18 April 2025.  Should you wish to respond individually, responses are being accepted by submitting a form or by email to einvoicingconsultation@hmrc.gov.uk.   

The Department of Finance has issued a paper Green Budgeting in Ireland from a Tax Perspective-update to the Methodology which outlines a methodology update to the Government’s green budgeting analysis from a tax perspective. According to this paper, the analysis undertaken shows that the tax system in Ireland as a whole can be seen as climate positive in monetary terms and that recent budgetary changes have improved the climate positive contribution of the tax system. Green budgeting is the process of documenting the impact of budgetary measures and wider fiscal policy on the transition to an environmentally sustainable and climate friendly economy. Green budgeting provides a policy framework which has the potential to induce policy changes that will result in improved environmental outcomes. The paper outlines that one of the key reasons for undertaking green budgeting in the Department of Finance is to raise awareness and understanding of how taxation is linked to climate and environmental objectives and policies.

Revenue has published its Protected Disclosures Annual Report for 2024 which provides information on both internal and external protected disclosures received in 2024. The report notes a significant increase in the number of disclosures, regarding potential tax or duty non-compliance, received by Revenue through its external reporting channels. Revenue has internal reporting channels and procedures in place for both current and former staff who wish to make a protected disclosure. In 2024, five reports were considered under Revenue’s policy on protected disclosure reporting. One report was closed following a comprehensive assessment by the Protected Disclosures Group which determined that there was no evidence of a relevant wrongdoing. Assessments of the other four reports, all received in Q4, were on-going on 31 December 2024. External protected disclosures are reports made by workers who are employed by a business, individual or organisation, other than Revenue, that contain information about potential wrongdoing related to tax, duty or customs controls. In 2024, a total of 930 reports were received through Revenue’s external protected disclosures channels with 171 reports assessed as meeting the criteria to be considered as a protected disclosure. The majority of the remainder of the reports related to reports of tax evasion not encountered in a work-related setting and this information was referred to the relevant Revenue Division for appropriate action. Compliance interventions opened on foot of the receipt of information in a protected disclosure report yielded over €1.2 million in additional taxes and/or duties for the Exchequer in 2024. Commenting on today’s publication, Revenue’s Director of Internal Audit, Leeann Kennedy said: “Revenue welcomes all reports of information regarding suspected tax non-compliance or tax evasion. Workers who provide information to Revenue under the framework of the Protected Disclosures Act are afforded a range of important legal protections. Revenue will always safeguard the worker’s identity”.

Revenue has updated the its guidance on the provision of staff awards to include a new table which summarises the tax treatment of certain staff awards. The summary table outlines the circumstances when certain award types are non-taxable. The award types listed in the summary table include staff suggestion schemes, long service, special increments and exceptional performance awards. Examination and course related awards are also mentioned.

Revenue has recently updated three other Tax and Duty Manuals. The updated manuals relate to remote working, expenditure on approved buildings and gardens and local property tax direct debits. Details are set out below. The guidance on Expenditure on Approved Buildings and Gardens has been updated to outline the process for applying via myEnquiries for a determination by Revenue allowing reasonable public access to the building or garden. The Tax and Duty manual Remote Working Relief has been updated to remove reference to  2020 as this year of assessment is now outside the timeframe for making a claim. The updated Tax and Duty manual Local Property Tax Direct Debit Guidelines provides further clarity in the overview section on valuation dates and the reference to cheque as a payment option has been removed.

On 31 March 2025, the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS, updated its central record of legislation with transitional qualified status to include two new qualifying jurisdictions, Guernsey and Spain. The central record includes details of the jurisdictions whose local implementation of the Pillar Two global minimum tax rules has been assessed as “qualified”.

Commenting on the US administration’s new tariffs, Cróna Clohisey, Director of Members and Advocacy, Chartered Accountants Ireland said: “The announcement of 20% tariffs on imports from the EU by US President Donald Trump last night is a regressive step in transatlantic trade relations and upends the principle of open and fair trade. We urge the Irish government to work with the EU Commission to find a way to engage the US in constructive dialogue which prioritises solutions over a cycle of retaliatory measures. A further escalation in trade tensions will risk jobs, businesses and economies not just on the island of Ireland, but across the world. Without a doubt, these tariffs will cast a shadow of uncertainty over the stability of Ireland’s future corporation tax receipts with the stated aim of the tariff war being to ‘onshore’ many of the US multinationals operating overseas. As an all-island body, it is equally regrettable to see a 10% tariff announced on imports to the US from Northern Ireland, adding an additional pressure to businesses who are still navigating the complex trading landscape post Brexit. For now, we need to focus on what we can control. Prioritising Ireland’s competitiveness on the global stage will require urgently addressing our persistent infrastructural deficits. Our infrastructure is 25% less developed, on average, than other high-income European countries. This is not sustainable, particularly in the face of such protectionist measures. Now is the time to utilise the resources already at our disposal to accelerate investment in housing, water, energy and transport to best position the economy for growth - not only in terms of continued inward investment but also supporting domestic enterprises that comprise 99.8% of businesses in Ireland.”

In UK news, HMRC has launched its new email enquiry service for agents, and we look at the key tax announcements from last week’s Spring Statement, including the news that Making Tax Digital will be extended to even smaller businesses from April 2028. In Irish news, Revenue has issued new guidance on submitting RZLT returns and a delegation from the Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, attended the recent meeting of the Business Tax Stakeholder Forum. In International news, the European Commission has welcomed the Court of Auditors’ special report on VAT fraud. UK 1. Read our overview and coverage of last week’s Spring Statement which included the announcement of ‘closing the tax gap’ and other miscellaneous measures and the extension of MTD. 2. HMRC launched its new email enquiry service for agents this week. Ireland 3. Read an update from the recent Business Tax Stakeholder Forum meeting. 4. Revenue has issued a new Tax and Duty Manual which provides information on submitting RZLT returns. International 5. The European Court of Auditors has published a special report on VAT fraud. 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.  

Revenue will be hosting information sessions in March and April for individuals over the age of 65. The sessions will be held in Dublin, Waterford and Mayo and advance registration is required. The sessions will run from 31 March 2025 to 9 April 2025 and will cover a range of topics including: Capital Acquisitions Tax Pay As You Earn Income Tax Local Property Tax Capital Gains Tax Law Society and Citizens Information Details on registration and the topics to be covered on the various dates are available on Revenue’s news webpage.

Last week, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published its Quarterly Economic Commentary. In the press release which accompanied the publication, the ESRI noted that the Irish economy is in a strong position. Unemployment is currently 3.9 percent while income growth is expected to exceed 3.5 percent this year. The international climate is creating uncertainty however, and the impact of the any ensuing trade wars will have adverse implications for the domestic economy. The overall impact will be compounded if the US specifically targets pharmaceutical products

The new agent e-linking application went live last week, providing an online approval system for linking agents and customers. A summary of the new process and the steps involved in accepting an agent link request through myAccount and ROS are outlined in a dedicated Revenue webpage. Our news item from 3 March 2025 includes further information on the new process.  

Last Friday, the Department of Finance hosted the most recent meeting of the Business Tax Stakeholder Forum. The Institute attended the meeting under the auspices of the CCAB-I. The forum is an opportunity for key business tax stakeholders to engage with department officials of business tax matters. Among the items discussed were tax simplification, both domestic and EU, an update on the Funds Sector 2030 project, and EU and international tax developments. In recent times, the forum has provided a key opportunity for the Institute to engage with the Department of Finance and share our views on tax policy. Before Christmas, we provided feedback on areas of focus for tax simplification. You can read that submission here.