Revenue has made a number of updates to the Tax and Duty manual that outlines the Schedule of Revenue Powers. The manual has been updated as follows: in Schedule 1, on sections 530T and 909 Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 in Schedule 3, to provide further clarity on powers under sections 128 and 128B Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999; in Schedule 4, to provide further clarity around powers to make enquiries or authorise inspections under the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003; by substituting a new Schedule 7 to include a summary of powers in the Customs Act 2015; by inserting a new Schedule 8 to include powers under the Mercantile Marine Act 1955; by inserting a new Schedule 9 to include powers under the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act 1993, and in Schedule 10, by deleting a reference to Regulation 23 of Income Tax Regulations 2000.

In April this year, the Institute’s NI Tax Committee wrote to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury to raise its concerns about the disproportionate impact of the proposals to curtail the benefit of agricultural property relief and business property relief from April 2026, particularly in Northern Ireland, on genuine farming activity and family owned businesses. The Committee urged the Government to postpone the changes in order to consult wider and reframe this policy change in a way that it is more effectively targeted. Last week HM Treasury responded to the letter which you can read in full on our website. Unfortunately, the content of the letter suggests that the policy will be proceeding as planned, and there is no suggestion that there will be any mitigations to the draft policy as it currently stands. It is therefore possible that later today, draft Finance Bill clauses for this policy change will be published as part of ‘L-day’. The Institute is therefore considering what further action needs to be take on this important issue. In April, the NI Tax Committee also responded to the related technical consultation which took place earlier in the year.

MEPs have adopted suggestions for reforms to the tax architecture to boost competitiveness while continuing to address tax avoidance and evasion. In addition, MEPs called for measures to deal with the tax issues facing trans-frontier workers and digital nomads, as well simplifying the R&D tax incentive schemes.

The Department of Finance has published its annual report on tax expenditures in Ireland. Tax expenditures include tax reliefs, credits, deductions and deferrals which reduce the quantum of tax paid, and the purpose of the report is to facilitate a better understanding of these expenditures in Ireland and their role within the Irish taxation system. Last year revenue forgone from all tax expenditures amounted to €8 billion, with the largest single cost, at just under €1.4 billion, arising from tax relief associated with the Research and Development tax credit.

Revenue has clarified that when a taxpayer is aware that its agent is trying to link and the agent has sent the elinking request, the taxpayer can navigate directly to the “mange agent link requests” on either ROS or myAccount to accept the linking request. The notification email or ROS inbox item is only to inform the taxpayer that they have a link request to action and is an additional support for the taxpayer on the timing of a link request. 

The European Commission is assessing the potential tofurther simplify and update the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), in line with the EU's Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal. In seeking input on the scope and content of its review of GBER it has launched a Call for Evidence and public consultation which will remain open until 6 October 2025.

Revenue is aware that an issue has arisen whereby a recent a fix to the Form 11 has inadvertently cleared certain RPF Form 11s which were in progress or have been issued to clients for approval. This has resulted in a requirement for the forms to be completed again from the beginning. Revenue has informed us that its technical team is working to reinstate the lost details on the affected Form 11s.

The Council has formally adopted new VAT rules for distance sales of imported goods. The new rules, agreed earlier this year, will make suppliers liable for import VAT and VAT on certain distance sales. Foreign traders or platforms using the VAT Import One-stop Shop will not need to be registered in each Member State.

The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council has published its annual report for Government on the key competitiveness and productivity challenges facing the Irish economy. The report contains specific policy actions to address the challenges identified. The report highlights the recently implemented Enhanced Reporting Requirements (ERR) for employers as a contributing factor to rising labour-related costs, driven by the requirement for employers to comply with additional reporting obligations mandated by ERR. The Council has recommended that a review is undertaken of the proportionality of the current ERR rules with consideration to be given to amendments for SMEs below a certain threshold (i.e., below 20 staff and/or below €1m in annual turnover) to lower the relative administrative burden.  Welcoming the report, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD, said: "I welcome the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council’s analysis and recommendations, as set out in Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2025. I also welcome the various positive findings by the Council about Ireland’s competitiveness performance – including an overall ranking of 7th in the IMD World Competitiveness Rankings – and concur with the Council’s assessment that we must not take our strong position for granted, given the highly competitive and uncertain global context in which we find ourselves. It is important for Ireland to retain its core strengths while addressing weaknesses. This work by the Council is highly valuable to Government. This year’s Challenge report has been an important input into the development of the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity which was discussed at the second annual Competitiveness Summit this week. The government will take the recommendations from the Council into consideration and will issue a formal reply in due course."

Last week, the Institute’s Tax and Public Policy team met with the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD to discuss current sentiment among SMEs and the challenges they face in terms of labour, operating and regulatory costs. At the meeting, we continued to highlight the difficulties that the Enhanced Reporting Requirement is causing for businesses, and we urged for the introduction of a monthly or even quarterly reporting requirement, rather than the current ‘on or before’ obligation. In terms of the recent increases in the costs of doing business, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has a broad range of grants available and information on these can be found here. We expressed our support for these vital sources of funding for businesses, while also acknowledging the challenges some smaller businesses face in accessing the grants.

The OECD has published second round Peer Review Reports on the exchange of information on request for Madagascar, Oman, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago. The assessed jurisdictions are expected to follow up on any recommendations made and the ultimate goal is to effectively implement the standard of transparency and exchange of information on request for tax purposes.

In Irish news this week, the US Administration has announced that it is extending the temporary suspension of tariffs on EU imports and Revenue has confirmed its continued commitment to the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process. In UK news, the Institute recommends that the medium sized transfer pricing exemption remains in place for Northern Ireland businesses transacting with Ireland, and ‘L-day’ will take place in a few days’ time on Monday 21 July. In International news, the European Commission has adopted an implementation regulation to facilitate automatic exchange of top-up tax information under DAC9.  Irish  President Trump signed the Executive Order to extend the suspension of ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on EU imports until 1 August 2025 and subsequently announced that a 30 percent tariff would be imposed thereafter.  Revenue issued a news update last week reaffirming its commitment to the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP).  UK  The NI Tax Committee recommends in a consultation response that the medium sized transfer pricing exemption remains in place for NI businesses transacting with Ireland.    This year’s legislation day, or ‘L-day’ as it is sometimes known is scheduled for Monday 21 July.   International  The European Commission has adopted an implementation regulation to facilitate automatic exchange of top-up tax information under DAC9.  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 here.