The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has today released a surprising judgement in the Franked Investment Income (FII) Group Litigation Order (GLO). The ECJ has in essence decided that the UK corporation tax rules which tax foreign dividends but exempt domestic dividends are in principle acceptable.  However, the ECJ has left to the national courts to review particular situations to see if such a system is unfair in practice. 

Declan Butler, tax partner at Deloitte, comments:
“I am...

“The increase in the company BES limit to €2 million, or a maximum of €1.5 million in a twelve-month period, is insufficient to restore the BES system to its former status as a major incentive to the entrepreneurial spirit which exists in small Irish companies,” Mr. Cullen said.

“The new maximum threshold of €2 million for the BES still lags well behind the thresholds which were attached to these schemes when...

• R&D tax regime improvements required
• More equitable regime on late payments needed
• Cap on pension funds should be increased

Over 97 per cent of chief executives believe that the Minister for Finance should use this week’s Budget to introduce incentives to encourage entrepreneurs to set up or expand their businesses in order to counter the perceived over-dependence of the economy on the property sector, according to a Deloitte survey.

Padraig Cronin, Tax Partner, said: “Property incentives have had a major impact in...

Twenty-three technology companies from the Republic of Ireland and six from Northern Ireland were last night ranked among Europe’s 500 fastest-growing technology companies, with Ireland’s fastest growth company, Xsil, ranked an impressive 8th.  The full list of EMEA’s 500 fastest growing companies was announced during the 2006 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA awards. ...

- Lessons to be learnt by Irish companies.

Irish companies should not ignore the potentially serious risks to their businesses when making acquisitions in emerging markets.

According to a study by Deloitte into pre-investment background checks (known as integrity due diligence) conducted by European foreign direct investors on acquisition targets in emerging markets, there has been an increase in the number of investors conducting such checks since 1999, but the...

• Irish consumers again most optimistic about economy and job security
• Significant growth in Internet spend this year
• Irish spend most in Europe on children’s presents – with games consoles and dolls leading the toy choice this year

Irish consumers will be the biggest spenders in Europe this Christmas with the average household in Ireland expected to spend EUR1,339 during the holiday season, which is double the European average, according to Deloitte’s eighth annual consumer survey of Christmas spending plans.

Irish consumers are planning to increase their household spending by about...

• More quality recruits needed to sustain $1.2 trillion industry
• Assets under administration in Dublin have trebled since 2001
• Review of regulatory minimum activity welcomed
• IT investment required to build platform for further growth
• Hedge Funds predicted as main area of growth

Funds administration companies in Ireland will need to successfully scale their businesses in order to continue the phenomenal growth within the industry. This is the number one issue facing the $1.2 trillion...

Housing demand continues but affordability deteriorating

• Lower price inflation in sector, but not a price correction
• UK REIT Programme offers significant opportunities for Irish investors

Price inflation in the housing market will fall from 14 per cent this year to 3 per cent in 2007, according to Dr. Dan McLoughlin, Chief Economist in Bank of Ireland.

Speaking at the Deloitte Property Seminar, Dr. McLoughlin said that housing demand will be driven by a surge in employment and immigration, but that the ability of people to...

• Analysis shows lower profitability in 2005 accident year
• Optimism for improvements in road safety and driving standards
• Premium rates will continue to decrease
• Tougher times ahead for motor insurers

Analysis of the Insurance Statistical Review (Blue Book) and IFSRA returns shows lower profitability for motor insurance companies in the 2005 accident year. In addition, current market sentiment indicates that motor insurance premiums are likely to continue to decrease in the coming year, signalling tougher times ahead for...

• Number of FTSE executive directors falls by one-fifth in four years;
• Non-executives now outnumber executives on FTSE boards by over 60 per cent;
• Still no room for women on board.

The number of executive directors of FTSE companies has fallen by 20 per cent since 2002, as the ‘Higgs effect’ continues to rapidly change the structure of the UK plc boardroom, according to a report by Deloitte, the business advisory firm.

Executive directors on main boards dropped by 6.5 per cent this year, the fourth successive year of decline,...