The latest six-monthly SME Business Sentiment Survey from Chartered Accountants Ireland and GRID Finance has found that confidence has weakened sharply, with 71% of SMEs less optimistic about the economic environment than they were six months ago, up from 54% in October 2025.The survey measures and tracks the experience, confidence and sentiment of SMEs, including small accounting practices, doing business in Ireland. The inaugural survey took place in April 2025 followed by the second survey in October 2025.  Profitability concerns and increasing costsThe sharp rise in SME pessimism is unsurprising given that just one quarter (25%) of companies reported increased profitability, compared to 32% in October 2025. Cost pressures continue to rise, with 84% reporting an increase in business costs. 38% of SMEs cite staff costs as the biggest financial challenge, while 54% say rising costs are the biggest challenge affecting competitiveness, highlighting the growing risk to SME viability and growth.Geopolitical uncertainty and energy costs causing SMEs concernRecent global events are also weighing heavily on SMEs, with almost half of business owners (48%) ranking geopolitical uncertainty and associated cost and supply chain impacts as the biggest challenge to their business over the next 12 months.This uncertainty is reflected throughout the survey findings with one-third (33%) of SMEs stating that energy costs and energy security have the greatest impact on their business operations when it comes to infrastructure.Cróna Clohisey, Director of Members and Advocacy, Chartered Accountants Ireland said:“These findings point to a worrying trend for SMEs, with cost pressures intensifying and profitability declining compared to six months ago.  SMEs are being squeezed from all sides – by rising wages needed to retain staff, persistent increases in day-to-day operating costs and energy and regulatory pressures, making it harder to maintain margins and retain staff. These are no longer temporary headwinds; they are embedded challenges that are eroding margins, weakening competitiveness and driving a much more cautious business outlook. As a result, more businesses now expect to be worse off (29%) than better off (28%) in the months ahead.“There is also clear evidence that existing government supports are not reaching businesses effectively. While almost half of SMEs (47%) say that they need energy cost supports – up 19 percentage points in a year, less than one in 10 have applied and half (50%) of SMEs say these supports are not effective. Making these supports more accessible and more effective must now be a priority.”SME priority areasReducing the regulatory and compliance burden remains the area most in need of government support (54%), even higher than demand for tax relief or access to grants or loans. This theme is also reflected in SMEs’ priorities for Ireland’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU, with two-fifths (40%) of businesses calling for simplification of EU regulatory requirements.Businesses also identified priorities for Budget 2027, with 28% of respondents citing the indexing of income tax credits and bands as their top priority.Ms Clohisey continued:“We’re also hearing directly from businesses about the growing pressure on take-home pay for both owners and employees. With living costs continuing to rise, it’s becoming harder to retain staff and plan ahead. It’s no surprise that 28% of SMEs are prioritising the indexing of income tax credits and bands - this is about easing the pressure on households as well as businesses.”Eoin Christian, CEO, GRID Finance said:“As an organisation that works closely with SMEs, it is crucial for us to understand their outlook. This survey sheds light on the key challenges businesses are facing, including rising costs and geopolitical uncertainty.  “Despite these growing challenges and the downturn in profitability, it is notable that the demand for borrowing remains largely unchanged. This suggests that while their economic outlook has weakened, the demand for borrowing has not slowed down. GRID Finance can help SMEs find their way through this tumultuous economic environment with the right supports.”

Jurisdictions implementing the Global Minimum Tax from 2024 have agreed a common understanding to preserve the administrative and compliance benefits of the central filing mechanism for the GloBE Information Return (GIR) as follows:Publication of a list of jurisdictions expected to have a fully operational GIR filing portal in place by 31 May 2026, andUse domestic legislation to waive penalties or not enforce local GIR filing obligations where the GIR has been centrally filed by the relevant deadline in any of the jurisdictions in the published list.

In this week’s cross-border trading corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications. 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. HMRC has sent a follow-up email after last week’s webinar on the replacement service for the Trader Support Service, in addition to a link to the webinar recording. And finally, the European Affairs Committee held an evidence session last week as part of its inquiry into dynamic alignment.Miscellaneous guidance updates and publicationsThis week’s miscellaneous guidance updates and publications are as follows:Customs, VAT and excise UK transition legislation from 1 January 2021,Reference document for authorised use: eligible goods and authorised uses,Reference documents for The Customs (Reliefs from a Liability to Import Duty and Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020,Reference Documents for The Customs Tariff (Preferential Trade Arrangements) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020,Reference Documents for The Customs Tariff (Suspension of Import Duty Rates) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020,Reference Documents for The Customs (Tariff Quotas) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020,UK Trade Tariff: duty suspensions and autonomous tariff quotas,Notices made under the Customs (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 ,Applying for Temporary Admission,Special procedure: temporary admission,Clearing goods entering, leaving or transiting the UK,UK import trade in goods by country of origin and country of dispatch, 2024,Reference document for authorised use: eligible goods and authorised uses,Reference documents for The Customs (Reliefs from a Liability to Import Duty and Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020,Reference Documents for The Customs Tariff (Preferential Trade Arrangements) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020,Reference Documents for The Customs Tariff (Suspension of Import Duty Rates) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, Reference Documents for The Customs (Tariff Quotas) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020,Additional Note 1 to Chapter 95 (Repealed) (Tariff notice 8), andUK Trade Tariff: duty suspensions and autonomous tariff quotas,

Revenue has updated guidance on remote working relief and the guide to self-assessment to consolidate material and to remove outdated information. The guidance on the Form P11 D has been updated to provide information on the application of penalties.

The Central Record for Purposes of the Global Minimum Tax, which sets out the jurisdictions whose minimum tax legislation has completed the process for the transitional qualification, has been updated to include Bahamas, Kenya, Kuwait and Oman with respect to their Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax rules.

Revenue has updated its VAT guidance on debt factoring and invoice discounting to reflect the Court of Justice of the European Union judgement in Case C-232/24 (Kosmiro). The revised guidance take effect from the date of publication.The guidance outlines that debt factoring and invoice discounting are each treated as a single taxable supply of debt‑collection services, and therefore all associated services supplied as part of debt factoring and invoice discounting, including financing or advancing funds, are also subject to VAT at the standard rate.

The OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS has released new administrative guidance on the application of the Transitional UTPR Safe Harbour to MNE groups with a 53-week fiscal year. Where an MNE group with a 53-week fiscal year has its UPE located in a jurisdiction eligible for both for the Transitional UTPR Safe Harbour, and for fiscal years starting on or after 1 January 2026,  the Side-by-Side (SbS) Safe Harbour or the UPE Safe Harbour, the guidance confirms that the MNE group remains eligible for the Transitional UTPR Safe Harbour until the SbS Safe Harbour or UPE Safe Harbour becomes applicable.

Revenue has updated its guidance on Full Self-Assessment: time limits for making enquiries and making or amending assessments outlining that an amended assessment can be raised outside the four-year period where a return does not contain full and true disclosure of all material facts.The updated guidance also reflects the Finance Act 2025 amendment which allows a Revenue officer to make or amend an assessment outside the normal four-year period to give effect to a Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) reached under a limited scope treaty. References to obsolete section 959Z(5)-(8) inclusive have been removed from the guidance.

In this week’s detailed miscellaneous updates which you can read more about below, the latest Agent Update is available, and HMRC is seeking the help of agents as part of an ongoing review of HMRC’s complaints handling process.In addition to the above, readers should also note the following:The High Court has dismissed a judicial review challenge on the April 2026 changes to the Inheritance Tax (IHT) reliefs, agricultural property relief and business property reliefs. The Court found there to be no binding promise to consult on the changes and determined that tax matters are strictly bound up with the Parliamentary and Budget process,HMRC has published a technical note on the IHT changes to pensions which commence from 6 April 2027,Senior HMRC personnel appeared before the Public Accounts Committee recently to discuss business tax compliance, andHMRC has announced that the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax online service will be unavailable between 5pm on Friday, 12 June 2026 and 1pm on Tuesday, 16 June 2026. Agent Update 143Agent Update: Issue 143 is available now. Get the latest guidance and information including:the Government’s newly announced supports during the Iran crisis,a reminder to file monthly Construction Industry Scheme returns or face late-filing penalties,Capital Gains Tax: Employee Ownership Trust relief reduction,The latest on the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism legislation, andA reminder about VAT return submission deadlines.Review of HMRC complaints handling processHMRC is currently undertaking an end‑to‑end review of its complaints handling processes. The purpose of the review is to understand how complaints are experienced in practice, identify systemic issues within the current operating model, and inform options for improvement. The focus is therefore on process and system design hence the review will not examine individual cases.As part of this work, it is important that HMRC hears directly from agents who regularly interact with the complaints process on behalf of their clients. Agent insight is critical to understanding how HMRC complaints handling works in reality, where it creates friction, and where it may not be delivering the intended outcomes for customers.HMRC is seeking to engage with a small number of agent volunteers who would be willing to share their professional experience of HMRC complaints processes, including:How agents and taxpayers experience the complaints journey in practice,Common challenges, delays, or points of confusion when raising or progressing complaints,Issues relating to consistency, ownership, communication, or escalation,The impact of current complaints processes on agents’ ability to support their clients effectively, andAny observations on what works well, as well as where improvement would make the greatest difference.HMRC can either have a short discussion session directly with agents or agents can also provide feedback in writing. Agents are not being asked to share sensitive personal data or client‑identifiable information. All contributions will be considered as provided in confidence and will be used in a thematic and anonymised way only. Contact tax@charteredaccountants.ie as soon as possible should you wish to participate. 

Revenue has issued updated guidance on the interpretation of Corporation Tax acts with additional references and links to other guidance materials.The guidance refers to the specific guidance and tax treatment of donations to National Governing Bodies in respect of certain sports (section 847AA TCA 1997), and to the tax treatment of foreign body corporates which are substantially similar in nature to Irish partnerships (section 1009A TCA 1997). 

Revenue has updated its guidance on income tax credits and reliefs relating to older persons and the single person child carer credit with additional clarifications, updated examples and removal of obsolete details.The updates to the guidance on income tax credits and reliefs relating to older persons include the following:The age tax credit examples have been updated in paragraph 1.1,Paragraph 2.3 has been updated to provide expanded guidance on the taxation of Department of Social Protection pensions, and In paragraph 2.7 further clarification on the PRSI position of people who had already reached age 66 by 1 January 2024 has been provided.The guidance on the single person child credit has been updated as follows: Paragraph one has been amended to remove a reference to One Parent Family Tax Credit which has not been available since 2013 and the table has been updated to include the increased value of the credit for 2025 and 2026,References to the year 2026 have replaced references to earlier tax years,Guidance on relinquishing a claim has been updated in paragraph five,References to entering a civil partnership have been removed, and Various minor corrections and rewordings have been made to the manual. 

The European Commission has published the work programme for VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA), covering the implementation activities planned for 2026. The programme is intended to support the rollout of the ViDA package as it builds on the implementation strategy released in September 2025.