The CCAB-I made its annual pre-Budget submission to Minister Donohoe last month. The submission sets out tax proposals aimed at supporting the local business community; with a focus on tax legislation that is in need of repair and the re-thinking of Revenue’s electronic facilities to assist this cohort of taxpayer.

A summary of the key measures for Budget 2019 from the CCAB-I are as follows:

• Investment in electronic facilities to assist taxpayers fulfil their obligations is urgently required for Professional Services Withholding Tax and CAT compliance purposes
• The VAT cash-flow constraints facing traders who import goods from the UK post Brexit can be alleviated through the introduction of a postponed method of accounting for VAT
• The additional layer of corporation tax applied to service companies is a barrier to entrepreneurship and should be abolished
• Current work practices are at odds with the age restriction under Retirement Relief and should be removed under Finance Act 2019
• Tax practitioners must be allowed adequate opportunity to comment and consult on complex tax legislation
• Tax laws can be used to help relieve the housing crisis by making changes to support landlords to continue in the rental market
• The CAT thresholds should be indexed to ensure that family home transfers are not subject to expensive tax liabilities
• Growth targets recommended for the SME sector could be supported through accelerated R&D tax credit refunds
• Tax relief for pension contributions should not be restricted to fund pension reform initiatives
• Anti-avoidance tax legislation must include specific bone-fide provisions to ensure genuine commercial transactions are not impacted
• The European Commission’s digital tax proposals must be vigorously resisted by Ireland. Digital taxation is a global challenge and should be addressed by the OECD as a global organisation with the backing of the G20
• Changes to Ireland’s tax laws on foot of the Coffey Review must be appropriate to the needs of Irish businesses and sustainable by reference to the structure of the Irish economy.

You can read the CCAB-I’s pre-Budget submission on www.charteredaccountants.ie/knowledge-centre/Tax/Representations