Minister of State Brian Hayes met with Chartered Accountants Ireland Council member Liam Lynch and other CCAB-I representatives last month. We discussed a number of issues of mutual interest with the Minister, and he indicated to us that he proposes to conduct consultations on the reform of the Office of the Appeal Commissioners in early 2012.

Minister Hayes has responsibility for certain tax matters within the Department of Finance, as well as his duties in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The agenda for the meeting included:

• Double Taxation Agreements and priorities for new agreements
• EU Tax Issues and the CCCTB
• Reform of the Appeals System

The Minister thanked the profession for its continued involvement in support of Irish Corporation Tax policy. He has noted concerns we expressed over the need to modernise the Tax Appeals process. He believes that a consultation process among stakeholders in the Appeals process would lead to improvements and underpin any legislative or administrative changes required, and intends to launch this consultation in early 2012.