Finance Act 2010:
Restoring, restructuring, recovering
The Finance Bill was published on 4 February 2010 to give effect to the changes announced by the Minister for Finance in his Budget statement on 9 December 2009. These measures include the introduction of a Carbon Tax, a car scrappage scheme, an extension to mortgage interest relief and measures designed to ensure that wealthy non-resident Irish domiciled individuals make a contribution to the State. The main focus in the Budget was the reduction in expenditure and time will tell if the Government succeeds in its targets.
The Minister believes that the Budgets in the last 18 months have improved our competitive position and gained market share. He is now introducing “pro-enterprise” taxation measures in the Bill to build on our existing strengths so that we can take advantage of the recovery when it arrives. The Government should be congratulated in that it has taken on board many of the suggestions made during a consultation process with business and their advisors. To mention just a few:
- The remittance basis of taxation has been amended so that it will be easier to attract highly qualified managerial or technical people to Ireland to assist Irish industry to operate at world class levels
- The introduction of measures to allow financing arrangements which would comply with Shari’a law, thereby increasing Ireland’s attractiveness as a financing centre for Islamic finances
- The focus on Ireland’s attractiveness for R&D and as a hub for intellectual property through the expansion of the IP regime to include software and applications for the grant or registration of patents, copyright etc and a broader definition of know-how
- Simplifying the procedures to pay dividends and royalties without withholding tax and expanding the tax credit regime in respect of foreign taxes to facilitate more internationals locating headquarter operations in Ireland
In the present economic environment where the country’s finances are under pressure, these changes must be broadly welcomed as we try to get Ireland Inc back on track.
Please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Tax team with any queries you might have on any of the topics discussed here.
| Income tax | Corporation tax | Indirect taxes | Capital taxes | |
| Individuals | Irish business | Financial services | Multinationals | Transfer pricing |
