Revenue has published its opening arrangements for the holiday period. Revenue will generally provide normal services apart from on 25 and 26 December 2024 and 1 January 2025. Revenue’s public offices will remain closed from 25 December 2024 to 1 January 2025. The ROS helpdesk, Local Property Tax (LPT) and Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) line and Collector General's credit card lines will operate as normal with certain exceptions. Wednesday 25 December to Monday 30 December: The Stamp Duty Helpline will be closed from Wednesday 25 December to Monday 30 December inclusive and on 1 January 2025. Tuesday 24 December and Tuesday 31 December 2024: The ROS Helpdesk will open from 9.00 to 13.00. LPT and VHT lines will open from 9.30 to 13.30. Collector General's credit card lines will open from 9.30 to 13.30. 

Revenue has contacted us via email advising that because the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) payment deadline for disposals made between 1 January 2024 and 30 November 2024 falls on Sunday 15 December 2024, they are extending the payment deadline to Monday 16 December 2024. This means that Revenue will accept payments for that period on Monday as if the payment was received on Sunday. In their email they noted the following: “It is noted that the Sunday deadline is a payment deadline rather than a return filing deadline. As a once-off concession, payments received on Monday 16 December 2024 will be treated as if they were made by the Sunday deadline.” The Institute, under the auspices of the CCAB-I, requested this extension at the most recent Tax Administration Liaison Committee (TALC) Collections meeting and as well at the most recent Main TALC meeting. We are pleased to announce this vital extension which we hope will ease the compliance burden on our members at this time.

Chartered Accountants Ireland has today circulated the Institute's Key Policy Priorities, based on member engagement, as discussions commence on the formation of the next Government. Focused on supporting small business and improving childcare provision for working parents, we will continue to amplify our members' voices as the negotiating process continues.

In Irish news, the November Exchequer figures confirm tax revenues continue to perform well, and the Minister for Finance welcomes strong results for the domestic economy. In UK news, HMRC recently reduced its interest rates for late payments and repayments and the Scottish Budget 2025/26 was announced last week. In International news, the EU Commission has welcomed the Court of Auditors’ special report on the EU’s efforts to combat harmful tax regimes.  Ireland The November Exchequer figures confirm tax revenues continue to perform well. The Minister for Finance has welcomed strong results for the domestic economy. UK HMRC recently reduced its interest rates for late payments and repayments. The Scottish Budget 2025/26 was announced last week. International The EU Commission has welcomed the Court of Auditors’ special report on the EU’s efforts to combat harmful tax regimes. 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. You can also read this week’s post EU exit corner.

Chartered Accountants Ireland is warning that family-owned businesses in Northern Ireland, including those in the agricultural sector, will be the biggest losers from the recent tax changes announced in the Autumn Budget. Impacted family businesses are now facing a triple whammy of mounting employment costs, higher Capital Gains Tax on sale or succession, and an unexpected Inheritance Tax bill when passing businesses on to the next generation. Commenting, Janette Burns, Chair of the Institute’s Northern Ireland Tax Committee said: “Northern Ireland family-owned businesses are the heartbeat of our economy with around 80% of businesses here either family owned or managed. Many of these businesses, particularly those who employ minimum wage workers, will face a stark increase in their wage bill from April 2025 as a result of the changes to Employer’s National Insurance Contributions and the National Minimum Wage. For example, a business with 50 part-time staff aged 18-20 working around 15 hours per week will have to find an additional £65,000 from April 2025 just to pay wages. This will particularly impact businesses reliant on part time staff such as in the retail and care sectors but especially for already struggling hospitality businesses.” Reflecting further on what’s still to come for Northern Ireland family-owned businesses, Janette commented: “From 30 October 2024 the rates of Capital Gains Tax have already increased from 10% to 18% and 18% to 24% ahead of a stepped reduction in the benefit of a key Capital Gains Tax relief, Business Asset Disposal Relief, commencing from April 2025. Then, from April 2026 the benefit of two key Inheritance Tax reliefs is being reduced by 50% for businesses (including farms) worth more than £1 million. This means that further down the tracks the same family business owners are facing a significantly higher tax bill when the time comes for the next generation to take over. Those who are approaching retirement will now pay more Capital Gains Tax either when they sell the business or pass it on to their successors whilst still alive. On a death transfer, the Budget’s Inheritance Tax changes from April 2026 mean that whomever inherits the business will be hit with an extra 20% Inheritance Tax bill on any value over £1 million. Figures suggest that an estimated 33% of farmers in Northern Ireland will be affected. Many family-owned businesses and farms here started out small 20 or 30 years ago and through sheer hard work, sacrifice, and determination have grown in size. It would not be unusual for those businesses to now be worth several million pounds. For a business or farm worth £2million, these changes will add as much as £200,000 onto the family Inheritance Tax bill. The reality is that many will be forced to sell the business or farm to pay this new bill.”

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual regarding the deduction for Digital Services Tax (DST) to include the Canadian DST in the list of DSTs which are accepted as being deductible where incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of a trade. 

The European Commission has welcomed the Court of Auditors' special report on the EU's efforts to combat harmful tax regimes and corporate tax avoidance. The report acknowledges the progress made by the Commission and Member States in implementing the EU's framework to tackle these issues. The Court of Auditors' report highlights the key measures introduced by the EU, such as the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive, the Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the field of taxation, and the Tax Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Directive. The report notes that these measures have contributed to a more transparent and fair tax environment in the EU.

In this week’s post EU exit corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications relevant in the post EU exit environment. The most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is also available as is the latest Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs team. And finally, we remind you that from 1 January 2025, the Windsor Framework (WF) introduces new rules in the UK for product licensing and labelling. WF changes from 1 January 2025 From 1 January 2025, the WF introduces new rules in the UK for product licensing, labelling, and the EU Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD). This is designed to ensure that medicines can be approved and licensed on a UK-wide basis by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and medicines can be supplied in the same packs across the UK. It also provides for the disapplication of FMD safety features for medicines marketed and supplied in Northern Ireland. Further information is available in the guidance here on the MHRA Windsor Framework Hub. Miscellaneous guidance updates and publications Locations you need to submit an ‘arrived’ export declaration before moving goods, Importing certain agricultural goods and food from outside the UK, How to use your duty deferment account, Check how to get your import VAT certificate (C79), Submit a pleasure craft report, Designated export place (DEP) codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service, Data Element 2/3: Documents and Other Reference Codes (Union) of the Customs Declaration Service, and External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service.  

In this week’s miscellaneous updates, HMRC has published a range of new guidelines for compliance (GFCs) and further updated guidance on Pillar Two has been published. The National Audit Office has published its annual report on HMRC and regulations on the penalties applicable to late payment of tax have been laid. And finally, the latest fuel advisory rates, which apply to employees using a company car, have been published and should be used from 1 December 2024. New GFCs The following new GFCs have been recently published: pay as you earn settlement agreement calculations, the apprenticeship levy and the national insurance employment allowance, patent box computations, and the economic crime levy. According to HMRC, GFCs “explain HMRC’s view on complex, widely misunderstood or novel risks that can occur across tax regimes” and are published to help taxpayers “avoid non-compliance”. The full range of GFCs published to date is available on GOV.UK. Pillar Two updated guidance HMRC has published further Pillar Two guidance which sets out: how and when to pay domestic top-up tax and multinational top-up tax, and how to use HMRC's online services for replacing the filing member on a Pillar 2 top-up taxes account. This confirms that the 15-character reference provided at registration must be used when making payments which should be made no later than: 30 June 2026 (if the first accounting period the group is required to report top up taxes ends on or before 31 December 2024), 18 months after the last day of the group’s accounting period (if the first accounting period the group is required to report top-up taxes ends after 31 December 2024), and the later of 30 June 2026 and 15 months after the last day of the group’s accounting period for all other periods. National Audit Office (NAO) HMRC report The NAO has published its annual report on HMRC. The report summarises the key relevant information and insights that can be gained from its examinations of HMRC and HMRC’s annual report and accounts and is intended to support the Treasury Committee, committees working with the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Work and Pensions, and MPs in their examination of HMRC. The report includes: the role and remit of the department, how the department is structured, where the department spends its money, key spending commitments and major programmes/developments, the department’s key areas of work, and key challenges facing the department this Parliament. This report updates the NAO’s previous report published in 2019. Regulations for late payment of tax penalties The Penalties for Failure to Pay Tax (Schedule 26 to the Finance Act 2021) (Assessments) Regulations 2024 were published last month and entered into force on 4 December 2024. These regulations are aimed at taxpayers who “intentionally avoid a second Late Payment Penalty by not paying their tax before the end of the two-year time limit”.   The regulations allow HMRC to assess and charge the second late payment penalty where the outstanding tax has not been paid in full, towards the end of the two-year time limit.

Due to the decrease in the Bank of England base rate at the beginning of November, HMRC subsequently announced the associated decreases in its interest rates. The new rates took effect from Monday 18 November 2024 for quarterly instalment payments, and 26 November 2024 for non-quarterly instalments payments. The two new decreased rates of interest are as follows:- late payment interest, set at base rate plus 2.5 percent, is now 7.25 percent; and repayment interest, set at base rate minus 1 percent, with a lower limit of 0.5 percent (known as the minimum floor), is now 3.75 percent.

Last week the Scottish Finance Secretary, Shona Robison, delivered the draft Scottish Budget 2025/26. Chapter 2 of this Budget publication sets out the Scottish Government’s tax policy and strategy. Scotland’s Tax Strategy: Building on our Tax Principles was also published last week. The key tax devolved to Scotland is income tax. The draft Budget announced that for 2025/26, the starter rate band will increase by 22.6 percent and the basic rate band will increase by 6.6 percent meaning that the thresholds for paying both the basic and intermediate rates of tax will increase by 3.5 percent, both of which are above inflation. The higher, advanced, and top rate thresholds will be frozen to the end of the current parliamentary term in Spring 2026. Our fellow Professional Body ICAS has been looking at these measures in more detail. The Scottish Fiscal Commission has also published its report Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts – December 2024 along with a one page graphic of key figures and a summary document. Background information is also available including spreadsheets with data for tables and charts. The following documents were also published: Scottish tax ready reckoners, Scottish Income Tax 2025/2026: factsheet, Scottish Budget 2025/26: pre-budget engagement summary, and Climate Xchange: International evidence on fiscal levers to deliver reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Earlier today HMRC advised us that some of its telephone helplines are currently experiencing a reduced level of service due to a technical issue. HMRC first made us aware of this late last week. HMRC is working urgently to resolve this. Taxpayers and agents can continue to use online services, where relevant, which we have been advised are working as normal.