Insights

Over the past few weeks, the Irish Revenue Commissioners (‘Revenue’) has sent in excess of 20,000 letters to non-resident landlords (‘NRL’) and their collection agents, informing them of the upcoming changes to the administration of withholding tax for NRLs. In these letters, Revenue has also detailed the information that landlords will be required to provide to their tenants or collection agents.

The European Commission has been revising the Securing Activity Framework of Enablers (SAFE) Directive, with intentions to implement the Directive in due course. The proposed policy carries a number of implications for tax intermediaries, which the Commission refers to as “enablers”.

The Revenue Commissioners (“Revenue”) first introduced the Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) in 2012 as a method for encouraging companies to relocate or assign their key employees to work in Ireland. Where certain conditions are satisfied, 30 percent of taxable employment income over €100,000 is disregarded for income tax purposes. This programme can result in significant tax savings for key employees.

The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) is extended until the end of April 2023. The monthly limit on payments that can be made under the scheme is enhanced. These changes featured in the Government’s Cost of Living package of supports announced in February 2023.

With a significant number of employees now working in different locations, global mobility has become an area of focus for Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners. Revenue has increased their resources in this area and begun to issue detailed guidance that addresses employers and employees in these circumstances.

Grant Thornton Financial Counselling Ltd acts as intermediary between you, the consumer, and the product provider with which we arrange your business.

On 22nd March 2021, the EU Council introduced "DAC7”, or the 7th Directive (2011/16/EU), on Administrative Cooperation, which enables EU Member States to address some of the perceived negative aspects of the digital economy, by extending the scope of existing exchange of information provisions between Member States, and thus ensuring greater transparency on cross border transactions.

The Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Act 2021 contains a provision, which requires the directors of Irish companies to provide their Personal Public Service (PPS) numbers on certain documents submitted to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) in order to allow for verification of a director’s identify.

The Forum on Tax Administration, a member group of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting), along with other OECD task forces, published a guide to Multilateral Mutual Agreement Procedures multilateral (MAPs) and Advance Pricing Arrangements (APAs). This guide is abbreviated as the ‘MoMA’.

Finance Act 2022 introduced significant changes to the R&D tax credit regime. Most of the changes accommodate the OECD Pillar Two GloBE rules and therefore were expected. Some of the practical issues now arising were not foreseen. In this insight, we summarise the new R&D regime and highlight the key practical considerations for companies.

The European Parliament has published its approval of the European Commission’s draft proposal for Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive III (ATAD III) with recommended amendments.

The Digital Games Tax Credit aims to capitalise on the synergies with the established Irish film and animation sectors, and to support quality employment in creative and digital arts in Ireland.