Author: David

WHY DO I, AS AN EMPLOYER,

NEED TO PROVIDE A CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT?

The contract of employment in Irish employment legislation is probably one of the most valuable documents available to the employer and the employee alike.

While there is no legal obligation on an employer to provide a contract of employment, there is an obligation on the employer to give an employee a written statement of certain terms of employment within 2 months of starting work.

A well written contract of employment will cover all aspects of the employment relationship and in doing so, will help eliminate the friction which can occur when problems are not dealt with.

Outside of the required document outlining the terms of employment, it is recommended to include the following items in an employment contract:

• a probationary period;
• retirement;
• provision for lay-off and short time;
• a flexibility clause;
• confidentiality clause;
• health and safety;
• disciplinary and grievance clauses;
• changes to conditions of employment.

The following is a summary of upcoming pay and file dates:

INCOME TAX

31 October 2023

Filing date of 2022 return of income (self-assessed individuals)

 31 October 2023

Pay preliminary income tax for 2023 (self-assessed individuals)

16 November 2023

On-Line pay and file date for 2022 return of income

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

15 December 2023

Payment of Capital Gains Tax for  the disposal of assets made from 01 January 2023 to 30 November 2023

31 January 2023

Payment of Capital Gains Tax for the disposal of assets made  from 01 December 2023 to 31 December 2023

CORPORATION TAX

23 December 2023

Filing date for Corporation Tax returns for accounting periods ending in March 2023

23 December 2023

Balancing payment of Corporation Tax for Accounting periods ending in March 2023

The following is a summary of upcoming pay and file dates:

INCOME TAX

Filing date of 2022 return of income                         31 October 2023

(self-assessed individuals)

Pay preliminary income tax for 2023                         31 October 2023

(self-assessed individuals)

On-Line pay and file date for 2022                            16 November 2023

return of income

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

Payment of Capital Gains Tax for

the disposal of assets made from                               15 December 2023

01 January 2023 to 30 November 2023

Payment of Capital Gains Tax for the disposal of assets made from                                       31 January 2023

01 December 2023 to 31 December 2023

CORPORATION TAX

Filing date for Corporation Tax

returns for accounting periods                                     23 December 2023

ending in March 2023

Balancing payment of Corporation

Tax for Accounting periods ending                            23 December 2023

in March 2023

EII is a tax relief which encourages individuals to provide equity based finance to trading companies by allowing individuals to obtain Income Tax relief on investments for shares in certain qualifying companies. Since October 2019 the tax relief of up to 40% of the investment made is available in full in the year of investment.

An individual who has made a qualifying investment on or after 1 January 2020 can claim relief on investments up to a maximum of €250,000 per year of assessment. Please note that shares must be retained for at least 4 years. Alternatively, an individual who has made a qualifying investment on or after 1 January 2020 can claim relief on investments up to a maximum of €500,000 per year of assessment subject to the following:

• An investor must ‘elect’ to retain those shares for a period of 7 years in order to claim the maximum relief. The election must be made at the time of the share issue.

• An investor cannot then ‘opt out’ of the election at a later date before the 7 years expired without suffering a clawback of the total relief initially claimed.

Where an investor invests an amount greater than the maximum amount allowed in a year, the excess over the maximum amount can be carried forward against future Income Tax liabilities. A Statement of Qualification (SOQ) must be issued by the qualifying company within 4 months after the end of the year in which shares are issued.

Finance Act 2021 extended this relief by a further 3 years to 31 December 2024.