The Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath TD, has signed the commencement order which brings the new non-resident landlord withholding tax (NLWT) system from 1 July 2023. As previously reported, the system provides for tenants and collection agents of non-resident landlords to deduct withholding tax at 20 percent and remit it to Revenue, along with a rental notification, using the NLWT system. This amendment will relieve the collection agent from being chargeable to tax in Ireland for such income of the non-resident landlord, where the landlord chooses this option. Cróna Clohisey, Tax and Public Policy Lead with the Institute spoke about the new system on RTE Radio One Morning Ireland and RTE News at One. Comments also appeared in print.

Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual on the Liquidation of Companies and other Company Law issues. Amendments to the manual include: Information on the Small Companies Administrative Process (SCARP). Replacing Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement with Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) throughout the manual. Removal of the reference to The Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid-19) Act 2020 extension to 31st December 2021.

Revenue has updated its Tax and Duty Manual, the Employers’ Guide to PAYE (applicable up to 31 December 2018) to remind taxpayers that the forms P30, P45, P46 and P35 (end of year return) have been abolished and replaced by new procedures with effect from 1 January 2019. Accordingly, these forms are not available for filing in ROS – online or offline. 

Revenue has announced that the filing deadline for DAC2/CRS and FATCA for the 2022 filing period has been deferred from 30 June 2023 to 14 July 2023 due to filing issues in ROS. Revenue advises that taxpayers can continue to file their returns in ROS and will receive an on-screen acceptance message. However, where taxpayers experience a delay in receiving confirmation to their Revenue Record, they are asked not to re-file unless they have not received the confirmation by 7 July. Revenue’s customer service team is available to answer queries: Via MyEnquiries, selecting AEOI (Automatic Exchange of Information) and DAC2- CRS, or By telephone at +353 42 9353337.

Revenue has issued a warning of a scam SMS (text message) purporting to come from Revenue seeking personal information from taxpayers in connection with a tax refund or seeking debit/credit card details. The Revenue Commissioners never send emails or text messages requiring customers to send personal information via email, text or pop-up windows. Further information is available here.

Last week, we posted an update on the new R&D tax credit filing requirements, including the specified return. To the extent it was not clear how the new forms will apply, it was confirmed at the recent R&D Discussion Group that the new Specified Return will need to be completed and returned via MyEnquiries along with the Form CT1 2022 where: An acceleration of the second and third instalment is claimed in accordance with section 766(4D) or 766A(4C) TCA 1997 A R&D tax credit is claimed in accordance with section 766C TCA 1997 A R&D tax credit is claimed in accordance with 766D TCA 1997. As mentioned last week, the Form CT1 2023 is expected by 10 July and will include sections reflecting the updates to the R&D tax credit.

HMRC has published partial draft guidance on the multinational top-up tax (“MTT”), and the domestic top-up tax (“DTT”) included in the Finance No. 2 Bill 2023. The MTT and DTT will take effect in the UK in respect of accounting periods beginning on or after 31 December 2023. Comments should be emailed to HMRC Pillar 2 consultation inbox. Include “HMRC guidance” in the subject line, and refer to the page number (MTTxxxxx) and page title if applicable, when submitting comments. HMRC also welcomes feedback on what stakeholders might find useful in future guidance. This guidance will form a new manual hence further draft guidance will be published in due course. We also understand that HMRC is sending letters to large businesses who it believes may be within the scope of the MTT and DTT.  The multinational top-up tax is a new tax on multinational enterprise groups with annual revenue of €750 million or more. A top-up tax will be charged on UK parent members when a subsidiary is located in a non-UK jurisdiction, and the group’s profits arising in that jurisdiction are taxed at a rate below the minimum effective tax rate of 15 percent. These measures constitute the UK’s adoption of a qualifying Income Inclusion Rule and a Qualifying Domestic MTT (part of the Pillar 2 or GloBE rules). The draft guidance is partial and consists of three chapters of the HMRC guidance manual on multinational top-up tax, which exists as a standalone manual. Page 24 of the guidance includes a cross-reference table between the OECD Model Rules and the UK legislation. The three chapters are:- Introduction, which includes an overview of the taxes and guidance on chargeability; Scope, which includes guidance on excluded entities, the revenue threshold test, and the transitional CbCR safe harbour; and Administration. Additionally, the Introduction chapter includes a map between the legislation and the OECD Model Rules (at MTT09990). The draft guidance is intended to reflect the legislation in the Finance No. 2 Bill 2023 and will be updated to reflect any amendments to the legislation. Therefore, you should not assume that the guidance is comprehensive, nor that it will provide a definitive answer in every case. HMRC will use their own reasoning, based on their training and experience, when applying the guidance to the facts of particular cases.

This month’s tidbits cover several newsletters and the latest advisory fuel rates. The following newsletters are available:- Pension schemes newsletter 150 — May 2023, Charities newsletter 1 — June 2023, Employment Related Securities Bulletin 52 (June 2023), and Public service pensions remedy newsletter — May 2023; The latest advisory fuel rates, which apply from 1 June 2023, are available; The following guidance has been updated:- Confirm a tax check for taxi, private hire or scrap metal licence applications, and Complete a tax check for a taxi, private hire or scrap metal licence A new Spotlight “Dividend diversion scheme used to fund education fees (Spotlight 62)” has been published; The guidance on how to claim a refund of Income Tax deducted from savings and investments has been updated; Several publications relevant to the new Economic Crime Levy have been updated:- Prepare for the Economic Crime Levy, Register for the Economic Crime Levy, and Check if you need to register for the Economic Crime Levy.

The database supporting  application of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI) has been updated and improved. The new release will allow interested parties to make projections on how the MLI modifies a particular tax treaty.

As reported in Tax News last week, the European Commission has proposed new procedures to make withholding tax more efficient and secure. The Commission has identified several problems with the existing regime, including an uneven digitalisation of tax procedures across Member States. In addition, regulation is fragmented with myriad forms applying in the various Member States. Recent estimates suggest investors are losing around €5 billion a year as a result. The new rules seek to standardise withholding tax procedures across the EU.

Recent data published on the new expanded One Stop Shop (OSS) and the new Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) indicate that Member States collected €20 billion in VAT in 2022 using the new systems. Just under 130,000 traders are now utilising the new systems.

Is the thought of having to revise for your next exam or a resit getting you down?  It may be because you’re yet to get into revision mode or it could be that you’ve always struggled when it comes to revising. Whatever your situation, there are plenty of practical methods you can follow to make your revision more manageable.  One of the best places to start is with your mindset. Because if you don’t feel motivated to revise because you see it as a negative thing, it won’t encourage you to get stuck into it.  Ideally, you need to approach your revision with a positive mindset. At the end of the day, it’s something you’ve got to do and will benefit your career, so why not reframe your thinking?   Dos and don’ts for feeling more positive about revision:  do focus on the present - don’t fall into the trap of worrying about the future and that you may not pass. Turn your attention to the here and now; the fact you need to revise for your exam and you’re doing all you can to pass it.  don't be secretive about your revision - tell people you are doing it. Saying it out loud reinforces your revision commitment. It also makes you more accountable for getting it done, especially if people ask you how you’re getting on with it.  do be calm - if you intend to get some revision done at the end of a hectic day, give yourself chance to detach from that experience and put yourself in a calm and more focused mindset. Starting your revision sessions with one minute of deep breathing will help put you in the right frame of mind.  don't dwell on failure - as easy as it can be to focus on past exam failures, don’t let them hold you back. Turn them into successes by focusing on what you did well. For example, how you calmed your nerves, how much sleep you got, how you planned out your revision. do reflect on past exams - how did you perform on the day? Which areas did you excel in and which topics do you need to really brush up on? Did you run out of time? All of these learnings are key for perfecting your future exam performance.  don't forget to back yourself - tell yourself you can sit the exam and you are going to do well. When you’re revising, say that you are looking forward to learning and praise yourself at the end of each session. Control your voice to be cheerleader not a critique. Exams are a stepping stone to your future success - what will they unlock for you?  do create a vision board - vision boards are a great tactic for motivating yourself to revise and picture what’s beyond it. They enable you to visualise what success looks like and what you will achieve as a result of taking this exam stepping stone. don't overlook your rewards - every time you do your revision, reward yourself. It’ll help you feel more positive about it overall too. For instance, you could treat yourself to a long, hot soak in the bath or your favourite chocolate bar. It doesn’t have to be anything too elaborate, but must be something you will look forward to enjoying once you’ve hit your revision milestone.  do put your blinkers on - it’s so easy to compare yourself to others. But it can be really counterproductive when it comes to making progress with your revision. You may have heard that your colleagues did all of their revision in the space of a weekend or that they’re already all prepped for the exam when you’re not. Try not to get distracted by their tactics and progress; try to just focus on you and your revision schedule because that’s what matters.  don’t neglect yourself - it can be easy to neglect yourself when you’ve got lots of studying to do. However, it’s important you don’t push yourself too hard, overlook your needs or skip the basics - such as, eating healthy, regular meals, getting plenty of sleep and exercising (which is one of the best stress relievers there is).   do plan and prepare - effective revision is based on having a dedicated plan in place. You may want to draw up a study timetable to help you stay on track - learn how by reading ‘Study smart: your plan to get the most out of revising.’ Alternatively, you may want to create weekly or daily schedules, where you can break up long hours of study into smaller, more manageable sessions. As the late, great Benjamin Franklin famously said: ‘If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.’ Don’t let it happen to you.  don’t get in a revision rut - unfortunately, feeling motivated about revising isn’t something people can pass on to you. It has to come from within because you are in control of your brain and how you feel about revising. However, if you’ve managed to follow the advice above, we hope you’ll be feeling far more motivated about revising now!   Feeling positive about revision may initially seem like somewhat of an impossible challenge, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t feel that way. There are plenty of things you can do to change your mindset from negative to positive and tackle your revision in a whole new light.  Article reproduced with the kind permission of CABA, the organisation providing lifelong support to ICAEW members, ACA students and their close family around the world.