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Finance Bill – Income Tax, Corporation Tax, VAT, Employer and Payroll Taxes

The Finance (COVID-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 was published today.  The provisions contained in the Bill include amendments to existing supports which were announced in the Economic Recovery Plan in addition to the introduction of the Business Resumption Support Scheme.  These tax relief measures income Income Tax, Business/Corporation Tax, Employer and Payroll Taxes and VAT.

Reduced rate of VAT (9%) for the hospitality sector

Section 6 of the Bill amends section 46 VATCA 2010 to provide for the extension of the reduced 9% VAT rate until 31st August 2022 in relation to the following services:

• Restaurant and catering services
• Guest and holiday accommodation
• Entertainment services to include admissions to cinemas, theatres, museums, fairgrounds, amusement park and sporting facilities
• Hairdressing
• The sale of certain printed matter including brochures, maps and programmes.

In summary, the reduced 9% VAT rate for the tourism sector has been extended from 31st December 2021 to 31st August 2022.

Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS)

The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) is a scheme that subsidises the cost of getting employees back to work.

The extension of the scheme should provide reassurance to businesses affected by the pandemic and enable them to plan for the months ahead.

Section 2 of the Bill amends the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (Section 28B of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) (No.2) Act 2020) to provide for the following changes:

1. the extension of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) until 31st December 2021.
2. the retention of the enhanced subsidy rates up to 30th September 2021.
3. the retention of the qualifying criteria of a 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders threshold.
4. An increase in the reference period to assess eligibility for the scheme from six to twelve months with effect from 1st July 2021.

This employer/payroll tax scheme requires that employers have valid tax clearance to enter the EWSS and that they maintain this tax clearance for the duration of the scheme.

Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) 

The COVID-19 Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) was introduced by the Finance Act 2020.

It provided support for businesses which had to temporarily cease as a result of public health guidelines.

At such time as the affected businesses are allowed to re-open, those claimants will have to exit this scheme.

As some of those businesses will remain financially affected, the new measures introduced in the Finance (COVID-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 published today will extend the scheme. In addition, there will be an enhanced re-start payment for businesses exiting the scheme equal to up to three weeks at double rate of payment, subject to a €10,000 cap.

Sections 3 and 4 of the Bill amend the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) and provide for the extension of the specified period until 30th September 2021.

Section 4 of the Bill provides for the enhanced restart week payment scheme.  The level of payment a business may claim on reopening, following the restrictions, will depend on the actual date that business reopens.

• For restart weeks between 29^th April to 1^st June 2021, the restart payment will equate to two weeks at double the normal CRSS rate subject to a cap of €5,000, being the maximum weekly amount.
• For restart weeks between 2^nd June to 31^st December 2021, the restart payment will equate to three weeks at double the normal CRSS rate subject to a cap of €10,000, being the maximum weekly amount.
• In all other cases, the standard rate of one week at the normal CRSS rate will apply, subject to a cap of €5,000, being the maximum weekly amount.

Please be aware:

• According to Revenue’s guidelines, an eight week deadline applies to the submission of enhanced restart week payment claims.
• A business can qualify for (a) the double restart week payment or (b) the triple restart week payment once.
• The Minister for Finance has the power to extend this scheme to 31st December 2021 by order.

Business Resumption Support Scheme (BRSS)

Section 5 of the Bill includes a new section, section 485A TCA 1997, which makes provision for a new Business Resumption Support Scheme (BRSS)

The main features of the scheme are as follows:

• BRSS is available for affected self-employed individuals and companies who carry on a trade, the profits from which are chargeable to Income Tax or Corporation Tax under Case I of Schedule D.
• It is also available to persons who carry on a trade in partnership (Income Tax), and any trading activity carried on by charities and sporting bodies.
• To qualify, businesses must be able to prove that their turnover is reduced by 75% in the reference period (i.e. 1st September 2020 to 31st August 2021) as compared with 2019 but it will be a later period if the business commenced trading on or after 26th December 2019.
• Qualifying taxpayers will be able to claim an amount equal to three times the amount as derived by 10% of their average weekly turnover during the reference period (i.e. 1st September 2020 to 31st August 2021) up to a maximum of €20,000 and 5% thereafter subject to a cap of €15,000.
• Please be aware that these payments will be treated as an advance credit for trading expenses.
• If the business was set up before 26^th December 2019 the claim will be calculated based on its actual average weekly turnover in the period starting on 1^st January 2019. For example, if the business was established after 1^st January 2019, then the claim will be based on the period from the actual commencement date up to 31^st December 2019.
• If the business was established between 26^th December 2019 and 10^th March 2020 the claim will be based on the actual average weekly turnover arising between the date of commencement and 15^th March 2020.
• If, however, the business activity commenced between 10^th March 2020 and 26^th August 2020 then the claim will be based on the actual average turnover generated between the date of commencement and 31^st August 2020.
• The individual, company or persons carrying on a partnership must have an up to date Tax Clearance Certificate in order to make a valid claim under this scheme.
• They must also be VAT compliant.
• They must not be entitled to make a claim under the CRSS Scheme in relation to any week that includes 1st September 2021 and the business must be actively trading, with the intention of continuing to do so.
• Those making a claim must register on ROS and file a declaration that they satisfy the necessary conditions to avail of BRSS.
• Please be aware that the names of BRSS claimants can be published on the Revenue’s website.

Stamp Duty measures for the cumulative purchase of ten or more residential properties

Section 13 of the Bill gives statutory effect to the Financial Resolution that was passed on 19th May 2021 and inserts section 31E in the SDCA 1999, thereby imposing a 10% stamp duty rate on the acquisition of certain residential properties (houses and duplexes but excluding  apartments) where an aggregate of ten or more units is acquired during a twelve month period by a single corporate entity or individual.

Section 14 of the Bill introduces a provision which provides for an exemption from the new 10% rate of stamp duty in situations where the residential units are leased to local authorities for certain social housing purposes.

Tax Debt Warehousing

Section 7 of the the Finance (COVID-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 inserts a new section 28D into the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 which provides for the warehousing of EWSS overpayments received by employers.

Sections 8, 9 ,10, 11 and 12 of the Bill give effect to the extension of the Debt Warehousing Scheme for refunds of Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) payments, Employer PAYE liabilities, Income Tax, VAT and PRSI:

This scheme will have three periods:

• Period 1 (the “Covid-19 restricted trading phase”) will run from 1st July 2020 to 31st December 2021.
• Period 2 (the “zero interest phase”) – will run from 1st January 2022 until 31st December 2022.  No interest will be levied on warehoused EWSS tax from Period 1.
• Period 3 (the “reduced interest phase) –will run from 1st January 2023 until the relevant tax is repaid to Revenue. interest will be levied at a rate of 3% per annum on the Period 1 warehoused relevant tax, from 1st January 2023.

In circumstances where an employer does not meet the conditions for debt warehousing then (i) the zero interest and (ii) reduced interest rates will no longer apply.  Instead the 8% rate will be imposed.

In summary, the extension of the Debt Warehousing Scheme relates to refunds of Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) payments, PAYE, Income Tax, VAT and PRSI.

For full and complete information, please follow the link: https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/bill/2021/89/eng/initiated/b8921d.pdf

lease be aware that the information contained in this article is of a general nature.  It is not intended to address specific circumstances in relation to any individual or entity. All reasonable efforts have been made by Accounts Advice Centre to provide accurate and up-to-date information, however, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate on the date it is received or that it will continue to remain so. This information should not be acted upon without full and comprehensive, specialist professional tax advice.

Ireland/US DTA. US/Switzerland DTA. Information Exchange. Taxes

On 17th July 2019, the U.S. Senate approved the 2019 Protocol to amend the Switzerland USA Double Taxation Agreement (DTA).  Formally, the protocol will enter into force on the date the instruments of ratification are exchanged.  The core element of the protocol of amendment is the exchange of information.

The protocol provides for the following changes:

• Currently there is no differentiation between tax evasion and tax fraud in Switzerland. This was in line with the international standard on information exchange. Switzerland applied this to in excess of one hundred jurisdictions however, the United States was not one of them. The protocol will erase this difference within the context of administrative assistance in relation to the U.S. It will also apply to other categories of information requests.
• For pillar 3a solutions (i.e. dividends paid to individual retirement arrangements), it will provide for an exemption from the source country (i.e. the Us) withholding 15% tax on cross border dividends from 1st January 2020 provided the protocol of amendment comes into force in 2019.
• Mandatory binding arbitration of unresolved competent authority cases will be implemented where the competent authorities cannot reach agreement in the mutual agreement procedure. This will eliminate exposure to double taxation.
• Under the new provision, the United States will be able to make group requests under the FATCA Agreement. The IRS will submit the group requests to the Swiss Federal Authority. The affected Swiss financial institutions will have ten days to deliver the required information on receipt of the request from the Swiss Federal Authority.

This milestone in the Switzerland and USA tax relationship is likely to make Switzerland far more appealing to U.S. multinationals.

For further information, please click: https://www.state.gov/switzerland-19-920

Please be aware that the information contained in this article is of a general nature.  It is not intended to address specific circumstances in relation to any individual or entity. All reasonable efforts have been made by Accounts Advice Centre to provide accurate and up-to-date information, however, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate on the date it is received or that it will continue to remain so. This information should not be acted upon without full and comprehensive, specialist professional tax advice.

Retirement, Redundancy and Termination Payments. Income Tax. Employer Taxes. Payroll

If you are facing retirement or redundancy (termination of employment), it is important to understand the Income Tax treatment of your severance package. The following attract beneficial tax treatment through your employer’s payroll:

1. Statutory redundancy payments
2. Ex-gratia Termination payments
3. Pension lump sums

Statutory redundancy payments

Statutory redundancy payments are tax exempt.  They are based on two weeks’ pay for every year of service plus one additional week’s pay with maximum weekly earnings capped at €600 per week.  Income in excess of €31,200 is ignored when calculating Statutory redundancy payments.

Ex-gratia termination payment

Lump sum payments paid by an employer on retirement or redundancy may be taxable.

All or part of the ex gratia termination payment may qualify for tax relief.

The termination payment tax reliefs are not available, however, to any payments made to an employee under the terms of their employment contract. In other words, any contractual payments made by the company to its employee are treated in the same way as a salary payment.

Only complete years are counted for purposes of the reliefs i.e. part of a year cannot be taken into account for the purposes of the calculation.

There are three types of tax reliefs available:

1. Basic Exemption – This exemption is calculated as €10,160 plus €765 for each complete year of service.

2. Increased Basic Exemption – The Basic exemption may be increased by a further €10,000 less the current actuarial value of any tax free pension lump sum receivable now or in the future from the company/occupational pension scheme. This relief is available provided the employee hasn’t claimed an exemption in excess of the Basic Exemption within the previous ten years.

3. Standard Capital Superannuation Benefit (SCSB) relief – This Relief is based on the employees’ average annual remuneration for the last 36 months up to the date of termination.

The tax free amount is calculated as follows:

(A × B) − C

15

where

A = the average remuneration for the last 36 months of service up to the date of termination.  The value of any taxable benefits can be included in the figure for emoluments.

B = The number of complete years of service.

C = Any tax free lump sum received or receivable under the employer/occupational pension scheme.

There is a lifetime cap of €200,000 on the tax-free amount of a termination payment an employee is entitled to receive.

The amount of the termination payment in excess of the relevant exemption/relief is liable to Income Tax and Universal Social Charge at the employee’s marginal rates.

There is no employee and employer’s PRSI payable on a termination payment.

Before making any decision, please keep in mind that claiming either (i) the Increased Basic Exemption or (ii) the SCSB Relief can affect an employee’s ability to receive a tax-free lump sum from their employer pension scheme on retirement.

Pension Lump Sums

When you retire, you can opt to take a tax-free retirement lump sum which is capped at €200,000 under current legislation.

The amount between €200,001 and €500,000 is taxable at the standard rate of tax being 20%

Any amount over €500,000 is taxed under the Pay As You Earn system at the taxpayer’s marginal tax rate of 40%.

For further information on Termination Payments, please click: https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-05/05-05-19.pdf

Please be aware that the information contained in this article is of a general nature.  It is not intended to address specific circumstances in relation to any individual or entity. All reasonable efforts have been made by Accounts Advice Centre to provide accurate and up-to-date information, however, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate on the date it is received or that it will continue to remain so. This information should not be acted upon without full and comprehensive, specialist professional tax advice.