Archive for Claire McNamara

Revenue Guidance Documents Following Finance Act 2014 (Ireland) – Part III

A number of Revenue Guidance Documents have been introduced following Finance Act 2014 being signed into law on 23rd December 2014.

3. Guidance on Compensation Payments under Section 2B of Employment Permits Act 2003 – eBrief no. 112/14 (24th December 2014)

The best starting point in relation to understanding the tax treatment of awards/settlements is Section 192(A) Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. It can be summarised as follows:

• If the award/settlement relates to a loss of wages/salary such as a Payment of Wages Read More

Written by | Posted in Capital Gains • Corporate • Europe, Middle East • Tax Deductions

Revenue Guidance Documents Following Finance Act 2014 (Ireland) – Part II

A number of Revenue Guidance Documents have been introduced following Finance Act 2014 being signed into law on 23rd December 2014.

2. Deduction for Income Earned in Certain Foreign States (Foreign Earnings Deduction) – eBrief no. 106/14 (24th December 2014)

The Foreign Earnings Deduction (F.E.D.) was introduced in Finance Act 2012.

It was designed to encourage and incentivize individuals who perform their duties of employment in the specific countries Ireland was targeting for the purposes of business development and export growth.

In 2012 this tax relief applied to Irish resident employees who carried out significant Read More

Written by | Posted in Capital Gains • Corporate • Europe, Middle East • Tax Deductions

Revenue Guidance Documents Following Finance Act 2014 (Ireland) – Part I

A number of Revenue Guidance Documents have been introduced following Finance Act 2014 being signed into law on 23rd December 2014.

1. Transfer of a Business to a Company (Section 600 Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 Relief and Assumption of Business Debt) – eBrief no. 111/14 (24th December 2014)

Section 600 TCA 1997 provides that Capital Gains Tax on the transfer of a business and all its assets to a company may be deferred providing four conditions are met:

1. The business is transferred as a going concern
2. The transfer is for bona fide commercial reasons and not for the purposes of tax avoidance Read More

Written by | Posted in Capital Gains • Corporate • Europe, Middle East • Tax Deductions

Revenue Guidance Documents Following Finance Act 2014 (Ireland) – Introduction

A number of Revenue Guidance Documents have been introduced following Finance Act 2014 being signed into law on 23rd December 2014.

This article will be focusing on the following documents:

1. Part I – Transfer of a Business to a Company (Section 600 Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 Relief and Assumption of Business Debt) – eBrief no. 111/14 (24th December 2014)
2. Part II – Deduction for Income Earned in Certain Foreign States (Foreign Earnings Deduction) – eBrief no. 106/14 (24th December 2014)
3. Part III – Guidance on Compensation Payments under Section 2B of Employment Permits Act 2003 – eBrief no. 112/14 (24th December 2014) Read More

Written by | Posted in Capital Gains • Corporate • Europe, Middle East • Tax Deductions

E.U. NEWS – The Corporation Tax Bill (Northern Ireland)

The Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Bill was published on 8th January 2015. The British Government hopes the Bill will be passed before the UK General Election in May.

The Bill, if passed, would allow Northern Ireland to apply its new Corporation Tax rate on most trading profits from April 2015.

The current rate paid by companies in Northern Ireland is 21% while the rate in the Republic of Ireland is 12½%.

According to the UK Government Press Release “if the rate was lowered, around 34,000 businesses in Northern Ireland would stand to benefit including 26,500 SMEs.” Read More

Written by | Posted in Corporate • Property Tax • Tax Policy

2015 Budget Announced Today In Ireland

Here is a brief Summary of some of the Taxation Measures for introduction in Ireland in 2015.

Income Tax

There will be an increase in the standard rate band of income tax by €1,000 from €32,800 to €33,800 for single individuals and from €41,800 to €42,800 for married one earner couples.

There will also be a reduction in the higher rate of income tax from 41% to 40%.

Artists’ Exemption

The threshold for the artists’ exemption will be increased by €10,000 to €50,000. Read More

Written by | Posted in Capital Gains • Income Tax • Tax Deductions • Tax Policy • Tax Tips

Compliance 2014 – Capital Acquisitions Tax – Ireland

The 2010 Finance Act introduced a fixed pay and file date for all gifts and inheritances with a “valuation date” after 14th June 2010. As a result, the Capital Acquisitions Tax year runs from 1st September to 31st August in the following year.

C.A.T. arising on gifts/inheritances, where the “valuation date” falls within the twelve month period ending on 31st August in a particular tax year, must be paid and filed with Revenue by the 31st October of that year.

What do we mean by “Valuation Date”?

The “valuation date” is the date on which the property making up the gift or inheritance is valued. The “valuation date” for a gift is the date the individual receives the gift but Read More

Written by | Posted in Estate Planning Tax • Gift Tax

Compliance 2014 – Capital Gains Tax – Ireland

If you’ve already made or about to make a disposal of a capital asset (e.g. certain shares, an investment property, a business, etc.) anytime between 1st January and 30th November 2014 you will be obliged to pay your Capital Gains Tax by 15th December 2014.

If you decide to wait and dispose of your asset between 1st December and 31st December 2014 then your payment will be due by 31st January 2015.

What happens if you miss these deadlines?

Interest of 0.0219% per day will be applied to all late payments of Capital Gains Tax.

What happens if you make a gain in the first part of the year and a loss in the second part?

Read More

Written by | Posted in Capital Gains • Europe, Middle East • Tax Policy

Employment Taxes – The High Earner’s Restriction (s.485C-485G TCA 1997)

The High Earner’s Restriction was introduced in the 2006 Finance Act with effect from 1st January 2007. The objective was to limit the use of certain tax reliefs and exemptions and to ensure that high income individuals who were eligible for these “specified reliefs” paid an effective tax rate of at least 20%.

Changes were introduced by Finance Act 2010 which extended the scope of the restriction to ensure these individuals now pay an increased effective rate of 30%. From 2010 onwards, the High Earner’s Restriction applies to a much greater number of tax payers which we can see from published figures (*Dáil PQ 25 March 2014)

Read More

Written by | Posted in Income Tax • Individual

Strategies To Pass Your Tax Exams

Since 1999 I’ve been provided tax revision courses for all the main accountancy qualifications including ACA, ACCA and CPA through my business Tax Grinds here in Dublin city centre.

In 2013 the published pass rates were as follows:

• CPA 43% (Advanced Tax)
• ACCA 41% (P6 – Advanced Tax) dropping to 39% in 2014
• ACA 63% (Overall)

Students fail their professional exams for a variety of reasons but the main one is the wrong study technique. Read More

Written by | Posted in Tax Tips

European Court of Justice Judgement In The Skandia America Corporation VAT Case (C7/13)

The European Court of Justice held that the supply of services by a non-EU Head Office to a branch situated in the E.U. is now liable to VAT where that branch is part of a VAT group.

VAT grouping allows EU member states to treat two or more companies as a single entity for VAT purposes which means transactions between members of a VAT group are normally ignored for VAT purposes.

However, the ruling on this dispute between Skandia America Corporation and the Swedish Tax Authorities means that services previously deemed to be VAT exempt will now be subject to VAT rates of between 15% and 27%.

This decision is of particular relevance to the financial services industry since the Read More

Written by | Posted in VAT

Are There Any Incentives For Employees of U.S. Employers Seconded To Ireland?

Special Assignee Relief Programme

The Special Assignee Relief Programme or S.A.R.P. applies to secondments in Ireland in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and lasts for five calendar years for each employee.

How does an employee qualify for this relief?

To qualify, the employee:

• Must work full time with the seconding employer (i.e. the U.S. employer) before the secondment for at least twelve months prior to moving to Ireland.
• Must not be Irish resident in the five years prior to the secondment. Read More

Written by | Posted in Europe, Middle East • Specialty Tax Incentives • United States
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