Property owners of residences newly liable for Local Property Tax (LPT) for the first time in 2025 are reminded to submit their LPT Return by next Monday, 2 December 2024. A property may become newly liable for LPT in 2025 if it is a newly-built residential property completed after 1 November 2023 and on, or before, 1 November 2024. It may also be newly liable to LPT if it has become occupied, or suitable for use as a dwelling, after 1 November 2023 and on, or before, 1 November 2024. A taxpayer who owns a property which is newly liable for LPT is required to value their property as at 1 November 2021. Revenue’s website contains guidance on valuing newly liable properties, with further information on LPT available on Revenue’s dedicated LPT webpage. 

In Irish news, Finance Act 2024 has been signed into law and Revenue Technical Services are hosting webinars next week to assist taxpayers in making submissions to the service. In UK news, the Institute met last week with HMRC to discuss the Autumn Budget 2024 and HMRC has published further information on VAT for private school fees. In International news, the Commission has launched a portal for the special SME VAT regime which goes lives from January 2025. Ireland Finance Act 2024 has been signed into law. Revenue Technical Services are hosting webinars next week to assist taxpayers in making submissions to the service. UK 3. Read about the Institute’s meeting last week with HMRC to discuss the 2024 Autumn Budget. 4. HMRC has published further information on VAT for private school fees. International 5. The EU Commission has launched a portal for the special SME VAT regime which goes lives from January 2025.   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.                

The EU Commission has decided to refer Germany to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to eliminate the discriminatory tax treatment of reinvested capital gains on the sale of German real estate. 

The OECD has published its Tax Administration 2024 report which is intended to be used by tax administration analysts to understand the design and administration of tax systems in other jurisdictions and to draw cross-border comparisons. The 2024 edition includes performance-related data, ratios, and trends up to the end of the 2022 fiscal year.  

The OECD Secretary-General Tax Report to G20 Leaders has been published. This report sets out recent developments in international tax reform, including the Two-Pillar Solution. It also covers progress made on the implementation of the BEPS minimum standards and tax transparency, as well as updates on tax policy, tax and inequality, and tax administration. 

From 1 January 2025, the special VAT regime (the SME scheme) will go live, allowing certain small enterprises to sell goods and services without charging VAT to their customers (in effect a VAT exemption) thereby alleviating their VAT compliance obligations.  Any small enterprise with a total annual turnover of no more than €100,000 (or the equivalent in its national currency) in all Member States, for the current and previous calendar year, is eligible for VAT exemption in its Member State of establishment and/or in other Member State(s) under the cross-border SME scheme.  

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual which provides guidance regarding the adjustment of VAT deductible due to unpaid consideration by deleting content that has become obsolete following the introduction of section 62A VATCA 2010.   

Revenue has updated the Stamp Duty Manual which provides guidance on the exemption for reconstructions or amalgamations of companies under section 80 SDCA 1999. The manual has been amended in section 8 to clarify the circumstances in which relief under section 80 SDCA 1999 will be withdrawn. 

Certain intermediary financing companies, known as Qualifying Financing Companies (QFCs), are permitted to obtain a deduction for interest paid on certain external/third party loans under section 76E TCA 1997. Revenue has published a new Tax and Duty Manual to provide guidance on the deductibility of interest by QFCs . 

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual which provides guidelines for registration for income tax, corporation tax, relevant contracts tax, employers’ PAYE and certain other taxheads.   The amendments are:  Inclusion of information regarding Statement of Particulars (Section 2.2.), An outline of Defective Concrete Products Levy (Section 7.6), An outline of Stamp Duty Insurance Levy (Section 7.7), and An outline of Non-Resident Landlord Withholding Tax (Section 7.8).

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual which outlines the importance of context and wording when interpreting the words “control” and “interest” as they relate to companies.   The updated manual now includes a summary of the definition of “control” in section 11 TCA 1997 and provides additional detail regarding the definition of “control” in section 432 TCA 1997. Examples of various TCA provisions that apply the definitions of “control” from sections 11 and 432 TCA are also listed. 

Last week the Institute met with HMRC to discuss the 2024 Autumn Budget. We expressed concern and shared our views on the impact of a range of changes including increased employment costs as a result of the National Minimum Wage and employer National Insurance Contribution changes from April 2025. We also highlighted the damaging impact that the 2026 changes to key inheritance tax reliefs (agricultural property relief and business property relief) will have, particularly for Northern Ireland family-owned businesses and farms. The Institute recommended to HMRC that the Government consult more widely on these particular changes and we highligted the need for any anti-forestalling legislation to be fair. These changes should not impact retrospectively on lifetime gifts already made in the seven years prior to 6 April 2026. The changes need to be properly considered before implementation given the impact they will have on both indigenous businesses and investors in the UK. Other issues discussed were the fuel duty dilemma, tax simplification, the taxation of electric vehicles, the practical impact of the in-year capital gains tax rate changes, the extension in this Parliament of Making Tax Digital for income tax to the £20,000 - £30,000 turnover population and regulation of the UK tax agent market.