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Last week, the European Commission adopted an ambitious tax simplification package comprising two legislative proposals: the direct taxation Omnibus (“the Tax Omnibus”); and the Recast of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (“the Recast DAC”) (together “the Tax Simplification Package”). The Tax Simplification package will simplify the tax rules across the European Union, reduce the compliance burden on businesses, and strengthen the overall competitiveness of the region. The Tax Simplification package should bring savings on compliance costs of businesses of €7.9 billion. The European Commission has prepared a fact sheet to assist interested parties navigate the new package of measures. The Tax Omnibus will have the widest impact on tax policy, including the introduction of EU-wide minimum standards on the tax treatment of investment in R&D related intangible assets. The proposals for intangible assets are expected to boost EU GDP by around 0.2 percent per year. The Tax Omnibus has been on the European Commission’s agenda for some time now and tax policymakers have been expecting its publication ahead of Ireland taking up its term as President of the Council of the European Union. Over time, EU direct tax legislation has become increasingly complex due to the accumulation of multiple directives, differences in national implementation, and evolving international tax developments. As a result, businesses operating cross-border face higher compliance costs, legal uncertainty, and administrative burdens. The Tax Omnibus is a response to the cumulative development of EU law in the field of taxation and the unavoidable yet significant complexity these developments have spawned. The Tax Omnibus seeks to address this complexity and the divergence in national implementation of EU tax directives.  The Tax Omnibus proposes amendments to the following directives: The Parent-Subsidiary Directive (Council Directive 2011/96/EU); The Interest and Royalties Directive (Council Directive 2003/49/EU); The Tax Merger Directive (Council Directive 2009/133/EU); The Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (Council Directive (EU) 2016/11644 as amended by Council Directive (EU) 2017/952); and,  The Dispute Resolution Directive (Council Directive (EU) 2017/1852). The Tax Omnibus is complimented by the Recast DAC. The various Directives on Administrative Cooperation (“DACs”) are the main body of EU legislation governing administrative cooperation in direct taxation. The DACs provide harmonised tools to assist Member States’ tax authorities combat tax fraud, evasion and avoidance. The Recast DAC will consolidate the existing framework and its subsequent amendments into a single, coherent legal instrument. Its main objective is to simplify the rules, reduce administrative burdens for businesses, and strengthen the competitiveness of the EU while maintaining strong safeguards against tax fraud, evasion, and avoidance.  The initiative is strongly supported by stakeholders, including businesses and Member States, who have highlighted the excessive compliance burden created by overlapping and fragmented rules. The proposed changes are expected to significantly reduce compliance costs and administrative effort, particularly for SMEs, while ensuring that tax authorities continue to receive high-quality information for risk assessment and enforcement. The Tax Simplification Package also supports the implementation of the EU Minimum Taxation Directive (Pillar Two) and will simplify and eliminate overlapping provisions within the ATAD, ensuring that the existing direct tax framework remains coherent. When the Tax Omnibus and the Recast DAC Recast are taken together, they should simplify certain reporting obligations and procedures for MNE groups in scope of the Pillar Two Directive. Following the announcement of the Tax Simplification Package, Commissioner Hoekstra commented: "Europe needs simpler rules to deliver better results. Our tax simplification proposals offer solutions will radically improve clarity and legal certainty for businesses and tax administrations alike. They will reduce overall compliance costs for European businesses by almost €8 billion per year, including €3.3 billion in annual administrative costs. This brings total savings from our simplification agenda so far to over €18 billion – almost half of our goal for this mandate. Our proposals will also help remove obstacles to cross-border investment and economic activity, strengthening the EU’s Single Market and advancing the Savings and Investments Union. By simplifying the Directive on Administrative Cooperation, we are also advancing our regulatory deep cleaning agenda. The European Commission is determined to keep building a more competitive and prosperous Europe – we won’t stop until we get there" 

Just one day after Sir Keir Starmer resigned as Prime Minister, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Dan Tomlison delivered a written ministerial statement in Parliament which contained 40 announcements as part of the Government's ‘Tax update 2026’, the first tax announcements of any significance since the 2025 Autumn Budget. A summary of the key announcements is outlined below. More detailed analysis will follow where necessary in the coming weeks. The detailed email from HMRC on the announcements made can be found on our website.The aim of these reforms is to simplify and modernise the tax and customs system, building on the commitment first made in the HMRC Transformation Roadmap published in July 2025 and confirmed at Budget 2025.E-invoicingThe Government confirmed that the electronic procurement system Peppol will be the core interoperability network for e-invoicing in the UK, the same system used in Ireland and other EU countries. This follows the Autumn Budget 2025 announcement that the Government will require all VAT invoices to be issued in a specified electronic format from April 2029,Individuals Draft legislation has been published to modernise Section 165 capital gains tax gift relief for business assets; this includes amending the meaning of “chargeable assets” which is used to calculate partial gift relief when gifting shares in a company which owns chargeable non-business assets; More information on the reforms to ISAs was published which will include a 22 percent tax charge on interest paid on cash holdings held in non-cash ISAs; andThe consultation announced at the Autumn Budget on more timely payments for income tax self-assessment (ITSA) was launched and a factsheet was published. This includes a requirement that ITSA taxpayers with PAYE income will pay their forecasted ITSA liability in-year from April 2029, and it also examines the potential for more timely payment for other ITSA taxpayers, such as those with ITSA income only;A consultation was launched examining the framework for distributions made by companies to shareholders who are individuals or trusts. The proposals in this are wide-ranging; andThe Government is also seeking evidence on voluntary national insurance contributions to help inform future changes.Administration and HMRC powersThe Government is aiming to:  Reform the publishing details of deliberate defaulters policy, allowing HMRC to publish more information about deliberate non-compliance;Introduce a package of measures to amend existing legislation aimed at tackling promoters of tax avoidance, including by extending the legislation so that it more fully covers VAT avoidance schemes; Bring forward a package of reforms to modernise HMRC’s information and inspection powers; andIntroduce a new power which will enable HMRC to publish the names of businesses that agree compound settlements (i.e., financial penalties, paid to avoid prosecution) for strategic export and sanctions offences. The following consultations were also launched: A consultation which will extend existing powers to enable recovery of lower value tax debts across all taxes via direct collection by instalments from bank accounts. This would apply to those who can pay but have not responded to multiple contact attempts from HMRC;A consultation which would require payments of PAYE and VAT liabilities by direct debit;A consultation on the introduction of a criminal offence of reckless untrue declarations or reckless false statements for direct tax matters, aligning the legal framework with existing offences in indirect tax; andA consultation on the introduction of software standards for the electronic and mobile point of sale sector to explore how best to embed standards across the latest products and innovations. CompaniesThere are plans to introduce secondary legislation to amend the definition of “augmented profits” for the purposes of corporation tax quarterly instalment payments.Employment taxesThe government will review the benchmark scale rates and the overseas scale rates used by employers to reimburse employees for certain travel and accommodation costs;The tax treatment of globally mobile directors is being reviewed to ensure there is consistent application of the rules; andThe Government has published a call for evidence to explore how PAYE Settlement Agreements are used in practice.VAT The Government has launched a consultation on the proposed extension of the VAT online marketplace liability rules to UK based businesses and a factsheet has also been published; and The Government intends to explore whether better use of VAT data that businesses already hold in their digital accounting systems could help HMRC work more efficiently.Customs duties It was announced that the Government will accelerate the delivery of the new low value import customs arrangements by six months to October 2028 at the latest. A package of measures was also announced which it is intended will simplify and modernise the customs system which includes developing and publishing a voluntary disclosure framework for customs by the end of 2026 and “improving the quality of customs intermediaries”.A new standard for customs intermediaries was published earlier this month. The government  is now working to develop a voluntary certification scheme for the standard and has published a consultation on mandatory registration for customs intermediaries.

By way of reminder, the filing deadlines for 2025/26 expenses and benefits and employment related securities are next week. The deadlines for filing 2025/26 expenses and benefits returns and employment related securities returns are both Monday 6 July 2026. The 2025/26 online filing deadline to apply for a PAYE settlement agreement is Sunday 5 July 2026, with payments due by 22 October 2026 (19 October 2026 if not paying electronically).Here’s a reminder of the key deadlines next week: 6 July 2026: deadline for submitting all 2025/26 P11D(b) and P11D forms (if benefits in kind (BiKs) not processed via payroll) and the employee must receive their copy of the P11D, 6 July 2026: deadline for online reporting of 2025/26 annual returns in respect of employment related securities,19 July 2026: deadline for non-electronic payment of Class 1A National Insurance Contributions (NIC) for 2025/26, and 22 July 2026: deadline for electronic payment of Class 1A NIC for 2025/26. Readers are reminded that the Government recently announced a phased timeline for implementation of mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind (BIKs) which had been due to commence for most BIKs from April 2027. 

Tomorrow, Tuesday 30 June 2026, is the deadline for agents to request that multi-factor authentication (MFA) be switched on for them from 15 July 2026. This is the first tranche of voluntary activations with a second tranche due to commence from 19 August 2026 for those who voluntarily apply on or before 31 July 2026. Earlier this month HMRC announced the timetable for switch on of MFA for agents which confirmed that any agents who do not have this activated in either the first or second of these voluntary tranches will automatically have this activated between 28 September and 15 October 2026. According to HMRC, thousands of agents have already opted in for early activation, choosing to take control of when MFA is switched on for their accounts. To request activation from 15 July 2026, agents should complete a short online form on or before 30 June 2026 when signing in to either their agent services account or HMRC online services for agents account. The form will not appear if MFA has already been activated on an agent’s account. The same process must be completed to request switch on in tranche two from 19 August 2026. If an agent has multiple IDs, they can choose which ones to activate for each voluntary tranche. Once activated, MFA will be applied to all accounts held under the agent ID or IDs provided. As an Institute we strongly encourage you to prepare in advance for your chosen activation date by selecting your preferred future settings and checking for any existing MFA settings that may be outdated. Full guidance on how to prepare is available in the updated HMRC Tax Agent's Handbook.MFA will add an extra layer of security to an agent’s online HMRC account; it  already protects Government Gateway (GG) accounts for individuals and organisations. HMRC is extending this to agent accounts in response to ongoing and evolving online security threats. When signing in to an online HMRC account, the Government Gateway (GG) user ID and password are entered as normal. MFA will then require the input of a one-time access code. This extra step helps protect the account, even if its sign in details have been compromised. It means that HMRC will not be required to suspend the agent’s access to their online accounts. The introduction of MFA therefore brings agent accounts in line with the protection already in place for individual and business GG accounts.

In a detailed miscellaneous update this week which you can read more about below, HMRC has published the 2026 edition of measuring tax gaps.In addition to the above, readers should also note the following:HMRC is urging summer jobseekers to use the HMRC app to demystify tax and money matters, The Institute for Fiscal Studies has published ‘The Scottish Government faces a fiscal reckoning – with spending cuts or tax rises on the way’ ,For anyone dealing with an estate affected by the recent NS&I tracing and payout errors, the Government has confirmed there will be a full inheritance tax exemption applied to the returned holdings and compensation payments. Executors will also not be liable for income tax on any accrued interest,In a recent article, the International Monetary Fund has welcome the UK's current fiscal strategy, noting the Government's balanced approach to deficit reduction and growth-friendly spending reinforces credibility. It emphasised that staying the course with planned medium-term fiscal adjustments is essential to stabilise the UK’s public debt,Tax Policy Associates has published ‘Why do we still have stamp duty?’,The latest schedule of HMRC Talking Points live and recorded webinars for tax agents are available for booking. Spaces are limited, so take a look now and save your place, and finally,Check HMRC’s online services availability page for details of planned downtime and the online services affected. Measuring tax gaps 2026 editionHMRC has published the 2026 edition of measuring tax gaps according to which the tax gap in 2024/25 was estimated to be 6.4 percent of total theoretical tax owed, HMRC’s best estimate at the time of publication which is subject to revision if more data becomes available. In absolute terms this is £59.2 billion, which compares with £52.8 billion in 2023/24 (revised up from the original figure of £46.8 billion). According to this annual publication the largest component in 2026 continues to be from small businesses.The tax gap is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and the amount that is actually paid. The percentage tax gap measures the tax gap as a proportion of theoretical liabilities and examines the movement in this as a measure of compliance over time as it takes into account the effects of inflation, economic growth and changes to tax rates. According to the 2026 publication, the tax gap fell from 7.5 percent in 2005/06 (the first year HMRC began publishing this) to 5.2 percent in 2017/18. However, since then it has been on the increase with the 2023/24 tax gap having now been revised to 6.0 percent from 5.3 percent. 

In this week’s cross-border trading corner, the most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is available as is the latest Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs team. The hot weather in France has resulted in the closure of the Calais Border Control Post (BCP) for movements of live animals which you can read more about below. The minutes and slides from the latest meeting of the HMRC Stakeholder Forum, the Joint Customs Consultative Committee, which the Institute participates in, are available. Following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation and the proposed timeline for selecting his successor, the next UK-EU Summit, which was due to take place next month on 22 July, has been postponed. In the meantime, the Government and the EU continue to discuss options for this to take place at the next earliest opportunity. And finally, ahead of changes taking effect from 1 July 2026 for movements of steel into Northern Ireland, the Government has sent an email setting out details of a letter which has been sent to traders advising them of the upcoming changes.Closure of Calais BCPThe Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs were informed last week of the closure of the Calais BCP until further notice due to high temperatures. While it is unlikely that exports of horses are taking place in these conditions, this closure also applies to other consignments requiring live animal controls, including commodities such as day-old chicks. Similar notifications had not been received from other border control posts, however traders are advised to check directly with the BCP of entry before dispatching consignments of live animals.According to the Government, the Hook of Holland BCP may be a suitable alternative for consignments as it remains open. For consignments of day-old chicks and hatching eggs, please ensure you follow the required timetable:You must notify the BCP by email at AC-HVH@ecsams.nl 48 hours before arrival to confirm your consignment is scheduled,Government veterinarians operate only in the morning, so your Export Health Certificate must be uploaded on TRACES before midday on the day before arrival, andThe Hook of Holland BCP does not operate at weekends.As with all exports, the Government strongly recommends that you continue to check directly with your BCP of entry prior to dispatch to ensure there are no local changes or additional requirements.

Revenue has updated its guidance on the operation of dividend withholding tax (DWT) to provide confirmation regarding the treatment of distributions paid to partnerships.  The updated guidance outlines the circumstance in which distributions may be paid, directly or indirectly, to Irish or equivalent non‑resident partnerships without applying DWT.The guidance outlines that on a strict interpretation of the legislation, DWT must be deducted on distributions received by the partnership. However, where a distribution is made to an Irish partnership, or to a non-resident partnership formed under the laws of a relevant territory, Revenue is prepared to ‘look through’ the partnership to the partners. In these circumstances and subject to certain conditions, Revenue will operate an administrative practice for distributions to be paid gross to the individual partners.The relevant conditions to be satisfied include:All the partners in the relevant partnership must themselves qualify for exemption if the dividend had been paid directly to those partners,The partnership is considered to be tax transparent in its jurisdiction of residence (or, where the partnership is not considered to be resident in any jurisdiction, its place of creation) and by all the jurisdictions where the partners within the partnership are resident,The business is conducted through the partnership for commercial reasons and not for tax avoidance purposes, and The appropriate declarations of exemption with supporting certification, under TCA Schedule 2A paragraphs 8 and 9 as appropriate, for each partner have been put in place with the paying company, AWA, RQI or QI from whom the relevant distribution will be received.Where a member of the partnership is itself a partnership, Revenue is prepared to ‘look through’ the second mentioned partnership where the above conditions are met in respect of the second mentioned partnership (and so on where, for bona fide commercial purposes, there are multiple partnerships in an investment chain). Any changes to the partnership must be regularly reviewed and monitored to ensure that the requisite documentation is in place. 

Revenue has published an update on Pillar Two filings with a reminder to in scope entities with an accounting period ended 31 December 2024 that tomorrow, Tuesday 30 June 2026 is the due date to file their Pillar Two information returns and/or their domestic tax returns and pay any associated Irish tax liabilities arising under Pillar Two. Revenue has noted the strong compliance levels in advance of tomorrow’s deadline and to date, over 40 Top-up Tax Information Returns (TIRs), 700 Notification of Filer Returns (NoFs), and over 600 domestic returns across the Income Inclusion Rule (IIR), the Undertaxed Profit Rule (UTPR) and the Qualified Domestic Top-up Tax (QDMTT) have been filed. Revenue has also published a user guide on the information returns, as well as an updated manual on the public filing interface itself. These materials provide further clarifications, including how Revenue will apply late‑filing penalties.The user guide on the information returns has been updated in Appendix B to include information on resolving XML schema and validation errors. The appendix includes links to resources to assist TIR filers diagnose issues.  The PIT User Guide is also updated to include the new appendix on resolving errors.In the update, Revenue notes that under “central filing,” a constituent entity is not obliged to file a TIR where the TIR is delivered to a tax authority in another jurisdiction by the ultimate parent entity or designated filing entity, located in a jurisdiction that has a qualifying competent authority agreement in effect with the State for the relevant fiscal year. Revenue notes that certain jurisdictions where groups intend to complete a central filing have indicated that no late filing penalties will be charged if the submission of a TIR has been made by a certain date after the specified return date, which is a date that is later than 18 months following the end of the fiscal year. Revenue has confirmed that the central filing mechanism as provided for in section 111AAI(2) TCA 1997 may continue to be available to the constituent entity located in Ireland and late filing penalties in respect of the TIR will not apply in the following circumstances:a NoF has been submitted to Revenue on or before the specified return date, anda correct and complete TIR is filed in such jurisdiction on behalf of a constituent entity located in Ireland on or before the earlier ofthe date to which penalties will not apply in that jurisdiction, and30 September 2026.

Last week, the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee and Tax Matters subcommittee discussed VAT fraud with representatives from the European Public Prosecutor’s office, the EU anti-fraud office, and the Eurofisc network. The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation, improving exchange of information and access to VAT data, and enhancing the effectiveness of existing fraud detection tools and prevention mechanisms in the EU.

On Tuesday, 14 July 2026, the European Parliament Subcommittee on Tax Matters will host two public hearings to discuss the recast of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the area of taxation (DAC) and on the Omnibus Proposal on Taxation.

On 17 June the Ulster Society hosted an Economic Update Webinar examining  how Northern Ireland’s economy is really performing — and talking about the outlook as we deal with global uncertainty.  Hear from three leading economists and analysts as they unpack the latest data, discuss the pressures and prospects ahead, and share practical insights for business and policy leaders alikeA recording of this webinar is now available to view, for free and on demandAbout the SpeakersJohn-Paul Coleman - Head of Treasury and Markets, Danse BankJohn-Paul Coleman manages Danske Bank’s funding, liquidity, Foreign Exchange (FX) and interest rate risk and leads a team of specialists in hedging FX and interest rate risk. John-Paul is a Chartered Financial Analyst with over 20 years’ experience in national and international banks working in Dublin, London and Belfast.Angela McGowan - Director, CBI Northern IrelandAngela joined the CBI in October 2016 as Director for Northern Ireland having previously worked for eight years as the Chief Economist for Danske Bank.  She has enjoyed a varied career as an economist in both the public and the private sector.  For many years she has been a regular commentator in the press on economic and business matters and she writes a monthly column for the Irish News.  In her role as CBI Director, she leads the Northern Ireland team on several policy issues that are important to the local business community. Gareth Hetherington - Director of the Ulster University Economic Policy CentreThe Centre carries out a broad range of economic policy focused research to inform Government on key policy and strategy decisions.  The Centre is currently working with Central Government in the areas of labour market research, skills development and competitiveness and with Local Government in Community Planning and economic development strategies. 

In Irish news, the Institute continues its engagement with members of Dáil Éireann in relation to our Pre-Budget 2027 Submission and Revenue urges early engagement in phase one of VAT modernisation. In UK news, the Institute has responded to the consultation on close company participator reporting and read our latest update on Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. In International news, the OECD has updated the enhanced monitoring report on the implementation of exchange of information requests.Irish1. Read about our continued engagement with members of Dáil Éireann on the Institute’s Pre-Budget 2027 submission.2. Revenue encourages early engagement from businesses within the scope of phase one of the VAT modernisation rollout.UK3. Based on stakeholder feedback, including from Chartered Accountants Ireland, HMRC has announced a revised timeline and a phased implementation for mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind.4. Read the latest updates on MTD for Income Tax.International5. The OECD has published the June 2026 update of the enhanced monitoring report on the exchange of information requests.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 Cross-border developments and trading corner.