Posts

Taxation of Vacant Lots

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The vacant site register has become a hot topic of conversation in recent months as many of Ireland’s development firms have begun to fight back against their inclusion on the list. This register was introduced in 2017 in an attempt to deter the hoarding of land in areas that could be utilised for housing development. As we have spoken about recently, housing supply is running low as prices continue to soar so naturally the hoarding of land has become somewhat of a bone of contention.

One issue that development companies are fighting here is the financial cost. Once added to the register, the local council can issue levies of up to 3% of the site’s market value to the owner. The owner will then have 28 days to appeal their inclusion on the list, and failing this, appeal to An Bord Pleanála. This can of course add up to quite significant levies being applied, leading to a number of development firms currently fighting against their local councils to appeal their inclusion on the register including housebuilding giant Glenveagh Properties and Ziggurat, a big name in the student housing business.

According to studies completed by Fora, 39 cases have been appealed to the Board since the beginning of 2017, with 11 having come to an official decision, and only 3 being granted their wish of being removed from the list while 8 were decided to be kept on. Two of the overturned cases related to land owned by the Office of Public Works wherein it was decided that residential properties would not be an agreeable outcome for these sites.

Whilst the effectiveness has been called into question with so few councils taking the land hoarding situation seriously and what was described by Goodbody economist Dermot O’Leary as a “lack of urgency” it seems that there is still room for improvement. Recently, The Minister for Finance has appointed international economic consultancy firm Indecon to complete an independent review of the issue and begin to inform a new government policy in this area. There is currently a period of public consultation until June 29th, so be sure to make your voice heard if you have something to add, or other concerns regarding the taxation of vacant property. This is also an opportunity to suggest alternative options, should you have any in mind.

With housing in such short supply and with these issues being at the forefront of the public mind, this is sure to be an ongoing battle and concern. Should you require any help, advice or guidance on any financial or business matters, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at EcovisDCA, where we will be happy to support you in getting your business to the next level.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY

Revenue’s New ‘Digital Transaction’ Tax

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Tax for the Memories

Taxation is always a hot topic of conversation, particularly in recent months as Revenue have begun to clamp down on issues of taxation from non-filing and late filing to fraud. With Brexit continuing to cast a shadow of uncertainty over us here in Ireland, our focus moves more into Europe. Recently two new legislative proposals have been put forward by the EU Commission which could possibly have unforeseen consequences for Ireland.

These proposals relate to digital tax and aim to create a turnover-based tax in an attempt to provide both a long and short term solution for the treatment of digital tax transactions. Essentially, the proposals will involve a 3% tax on gross revenues of certain digital transactions based on the location of target customers, meaning that the targeted consumer area will be issued with a tax payment, creating a sort of symbiotic tax relationship between the country of origin and the country of consumption. An apparent win-win situation as both countries receive something positive whether a tax payment or the revenue from the endeavour itself.

To begin with, this will only apply to larger companies with turnover in excess of €750m worldwide, but it is hoped that in the longer term, these plans can apply to a wider range of companies. It has been suggested that the proposals are in direct contrast to the normal tax principles in that it applies to where customers are located as opposed to where the work actively takes place, and also doesn’t take into account whether the company is making any profits as it is generally based on gross revenues. It has also been suggested that it will be far more difficult to quantify as rather than the standard procedures, it will involve converting customer data and satisfaction into actual facts and figures for taxation purposes. This has been suggested as being somewhat damaging for the Irish market which has a long history of exporting. It has also been suggested that this could be damaging for Ireland as it somewhat diminished the value of our 12.5% tax rate as this digital tax becomes a cost for Irish companies. A reduction in the appeal of our tax rate could result in Ireland becoming a less attractive prospect.

It has also been suggested that these proposals could have adverse effects on competition and be economically damaging should these short term proposals be in place for longer than expected as a longer term solution is formulated. These proposals could potentially penalise smaller countries whilst rewarding larger, this would of course be damaging to Ireland. Perhaps the longer term solution will factor in the value both of the country of origin and the country of consumption, but both this and any adverse or positive effects remain to be seen.

Should you require any help, advice or guidance on any financial or business matters, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at EcovisDCA, where we will be happy to support you in getting your business to the next level.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY

Revenue will no longer add charges for payments via Credit Cards

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Re-Charging your Wallet

The convenience that comes with our current modern lives of being able to pay for and receive items immediately digitally as well as dealing with many or our transactions in a virtual manner does of course have its downsides. Whilst modern life has us all connected to each other at all times via our phones this does cause a new innate lack of face to face conversation and whilst being able to pay online using our cards is convenient, there is also the downside of so many hidden charges being applied to our accounts that we may not have accounted for in our budgeting.

There was good news in this regard earlier this month as it was announced that as of April 5th 2018, Revenue would no longer be adding charges for payments via credit card, whether these cards are personal, business or international. This will bring Ireland in line with new EU Rules enforced early this year which banned any surcharges on payment of tax liability. This charge could add as much as 2% onto the tax bill of those paying online. Revenue’s previous 1.1% charge was as a result of service provider charges, which will now be abolished for these payments.

Revenue have stated that this is in line with their focus on making it easier and more convenient for customers to do business online, which can only be a positive step in our busy digital modern lives, and one which we think will be of great benefit to all. Revenue have already taken steps to make online transactions easier with the upgrading of their MyAccount online service which takes the headache out of a great many tax issues and allows people to do most of their transactions from the comfort of their homes or offices, so we welcome any further changes that will ensure our clients and friends have clearer minds and fuller pockets at the end of the day.

Should you require any help, advice or guidance on any financial or business matters, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at EcovisDCA, where we will be happy to support you in getting your business to the next level.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY

Revenue – New Changes To Be Aware of

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We have spoken at length in the past about the many ways in which Revenue are striving to make it easier and more convenient for people to deal with their tax transactions online, from a revamping of the MyAccount system to a reduction in fees and a strong clamp down on evasion using all the digital tools at their disposal there has never been a better or simpler time to file or query your tax transactions.

Next year (2019) there is set to be an overhauling and modernisation process in place for PAYE. Throughout the month, employers are due to receive letters from Revenue detailing their plans for PAYE Modernisation. This modernisation will result in real time PAYE reporting and is due to be officially put into place in January 2019. The letters will be tailored to the company’s requirements utilising Revenue records as there will be different categories of letter issued to ensure that companies receive the information most relevant to their business. Companies using payroll software or smaller companies will receive different information than those who do not use software, or larger companies for example. Employers will be asked to submit employee lists and relevant details regarding their employees to Revenue later this year in order to set the wheels of PAYE modernisation in motion.

In addition to this major overhaul, there will be many other changes made, this month a new PPS number checker will be available via the online services allowing up to 10 PPS numbers to be verified at a time using names and the given PPS number, this will certainly be a vital new service. Later in the year a number of changes will be made to the Revenue Online Services (ROS) dashboard, giving a new look and increased functionality to the system. There will be a new service for “Employer Payroll Services” and a new “favourites” option allowing easier access to most used options.

It is hoped that these new changes will increase the ease with which employers and business owner can process their dealings with Revenue and that the increased functionality of the website itself will limit any confusion or issues making life easier for both the employer and Revenue as it should limit late filing issues etc.

Should you require any help, advice or guidance on any financial or business matters, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at EcovisDCA, where we will be happy to support you in getting your business to the next level.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY

The Offshore Blues

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With the Tax deadlines having just passed, taxation has been a hot topic of conversation in recent weeks, we have spoken in the past about the ways in which there will be an increased clamp down on tax evasion and this week, Revenue have confirmed that there is an inquiry underway to identify tax payers engaged in offshore tax evasion and avoidance. Recent leaks in the celebrity world have brought issues such as these to the forefront of public consciousness and now we are seeing this become a higher priority for Revenue themselves.

Changes made in the Finance Act 2016 means that now any tax payers engaged in offshore activities may face larger penalties and even prosecution for defaulting. The deadline for coming forward with declarations on offshore tax liabilities was May 5th 2017, and despite receiving over 2700 disclosures, it is thought that there may be many others.

As we have discussed previously, Revenue are embracing technological advances in order to tackle tax evasion and will be employing a system of data analytics to combat this offshore issue. According to Daniel Sinnot, Head of Revenue’s Research

“Data analytics is an integral element of Revenue decision making, and it works by having a ‘whole of taxpayer’ view. We use proprietary software to match the data that we receive from other tax administrations to Revenue’s taxpayer records, then cross-check against prior returns to ensure all relevant income and assets have been declared. We also feed the data into our social network analysis and anomaly detection tools, to highlight suspicious cases. Then, as we begin to carry out risk based compliance interventions, we use the results of our interventions to train machine-learning models that further refine our ability to recognise and target the riskiest cases.”  

Mr. Rigney also stated that Revenue study and examine the information published in the wider media, including all allegations within the so-called “Paradise Papers”. The disclosures already made have revealed that over half were related to British-based liabilities with others referring to the UK, France, Spain and Switzerland. Revenue have revealed that almost a third of the disclosures related to property, with 20% relating to shares.

It is clear that tax evasion remains a top priority for Revenue and as always we recommend early and efficient filing before deadlines to avoid any penalties or issues that may delay processing. Revenue have stated that they will continue to keep this as a priority and will investigate further as more information emerges.

Should you have any queries relating to any business or financial matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at EcovisDCA where we are always happy to help you and your business.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY

CRO – A Costly Omission

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We have spoken quite a lot in recent months about the various ways that Revenue will be clamping down on tax fraud issues and late filing. We also touched more recently on the fact that the CRO (Companies Registration Office) would be getting stricter on late filers, particularly companies with a history of late filing. In the past there has been a certain amount of leeway given to companies, and this year there was an allowance of two days given for online filing as a result of disruptions caused to businesses as a result of Hurricane Ophelia.

These changes to the way in which the CRO will manage late filings were placed into immediate effect this month as Judge Brennan presided over more than twenty cases of companies who were either late to file, or neglected to file their Annual Returns and Accounts. Prosecution notices were issued in early October to companies with a consistent history of late or not presented returns.

The CRO utilise a ranking system in order to identify those companies with the most consistent poor filing history. This system totals their fees owed over a period of time and upon another late or neglected annual return, those at the top of the table are selected for prosecution. Should these companies file on time, they are removed from the register altogether.

Fines issued during these proceedings ranged from €500 to €5000, including late fees, which I’m sure we can all agree is a very expensive mistake to make, which is easily rectified by ensuring that your returns and accounts are filed well in advance of the deadline each year.

With the CRO considering their next round of prosecutions, we would hate to see any of our Clients caught in the crosshairs due to an omission such as this.

Should you require any help or guidance on these or any other business and finance matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at EcovisDCA, where we are always happy to help.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY

Income Tax Deadlines 2017

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As the deadline for paper filing has come and gone as of October 31st, the focus now shifts to the online pay and file deadline. This tax season has been an unusual one in many ways. It’s not very often that we find ourselves in a hurricane in Ireland, and even rarer that such a storm could bring with it tidings of good.

Revenue has extended the online pay and file deadline for self employed people as a result of Storm Ophelia and the business time lost as a result of office closures. The previous deadline was November 14th, and has now been shifted to midnight on November 16th to allow people to recoup that lost time.

Revenue has also announced that their help-desks will be open until 8pm each night leading up to this deadline, and will remain open until midnight on the deadline day itself. This is to ensure that any issues are dealt with in a timely manner to avoid late filing.

As always, our advice is to file early and avoid an over-reliance on extended deadlines where possible. Should you have any queries or concerns related to this, please feel free to contact us.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY

PAYE UP

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In recent years life and business have been taking a turn for the seemingly more convenient with it becoming increasingly easy to complete important tasks and meet deadlines remotely or via phone. Banking too became more convenient with online banking beginning to take over and allowing customers to complete many banking transactions online. Similarly, issues like tax submission etc. have become more convenient with the advent of online systems and the availability of important submission forms to download.

The Revenue website is one area which has been making a marked move towards online services with many day-to-day checks and queries being able to be answered via the ‘myAccount’ area of the Revenue website. This week, Revenue have announced that development of the myAccount system is ongoing and that there would be changes imminent in the coming weeks, which we felt might be relevant to you.

Revenue have announced that from the middle of June, their PAYE anytime service would no longer be available. This is due to the ongoing works on the website and the findings that the service is not easily accessible on mobile devices. This shows a very marked belief in progress as the need to have all services easily accessed via a tablet or smartphone showcases our current and continued reliance on these devices. The PAYE anytime service was released in 2005 and has certainly served its time and purpose well but it is time to move on.

PAYE business will now be completed via myAccount through newly enhanced PAYE Services, easily accessed on all mobile devices. Interestingly, this will also be available through the very modern RevApp allowing you to have your tax issues and queries resolved at the push of a button.

Through these new services you will be able to:

  • Manage your tax 2017.
  • Review your tax 2013 – 2016.
  • Request an End of Year Statement (P21).
  • Add a Job or Pension.
  • View your Tax Credit Certificates and End of Year Statements (P21).

The new Revenue website will be available to view from early June on all mobile devices and PCs, we are never ones to complain about convenience.

Should you require any help, advice or guidance on your own tax or other business and financial matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at EcovisDCA where we will be happy to help.

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~ DCA PARTNERS, DECLAN DOLAN & EAMONN GARVEY