Permanent TSB has intensified its efforts to end interest-only mortgages for its buy-to-let customers, according to The Sunday Business Post. A number of the bank’s customers received letters in the past couple of weeks notifying them of the changed terms, including a warning that they could lose their tracker-rate mortgages.
Tax policy is beginning to take centre stage and will likely play a pivotal part in which party or parties govern the country after the election on February 25th. The Sunday Business Post leads with Fine Gael’s pledge to retain pension tax relief at 41% – something to be particularly mindful of as it looks odds-on to be the main party in government shortly.
“Fine Gael will attempt to attract middle-income voters with new tax plans this week, including a commitment to retain tax relief on pension contributions at 41%, rather than cutting it to 20% as promised in the four-year plan,” according to the newspaper’s editor Cliff Taylor and its political editor, Pat Leahy. “This would remove a significant threat to the incomes of middle and higher earners, who would have faced a higher income tax bill as the relief was progressively cut.”
Fine Gael is expected to unveil its plans on Thursday, where it will also promise not to increase income taxes any further even if public finances come under further pressure.
The same article points out that Labour is at odds with Fine Gael’s acceptance of the spending cuts imposed under the four-year plan, claiming they would drive the economy deeper into recession. It proposes to extend the target for reducing the budget deficit to 3% by a year to 2016 and to impose a higher universal social charge of 10% on earnings above €100,000.
In a rare display of consensus, all of the major political parties have told Europe where to get off regarding mooted proposals from Germany and France to increase Ireland’s corporate tax rate. Their resolve is no doubt being steeled by warnings of the catastrophe awaiting what’s left of the economy if the 12.5% rate was to go.
The Sunday Times reports on remarks made by Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary earlier in the week that the airline “will lead the charge overseas” if the rate is increased.
O’Leary said Ryanair had “made it very clear to the Irish Government” that “significant” increases in corporate tax would see the airline move its headquarters overseas.
Death and taxes are often cited as the two inevitables in life but there is a third: political rhetoric. And in the run-up to what is surely the most interesting general election in decades, the policies and promises are changing faster than last week’s passing of the Finance Bill.
In the latest bizarre political twist, possibly the most important single piece of legislation to be enacted during the term of the last Dáil, was sacrificed quickly on the altar of political expediency.
A movie that benefited from Section 481 tax relief has secured a $1m distribution deal after it was shown at the Sundance Film Festival last week, The Sunday Business Post reports.
The Finance Bill will likely be rushed through despite the far-reaching measures it contains, according to Kevin McLoughlin, head of tax services at Ernst & Young.
The pay-and-file deadline for self-assessed taxpayers will fall a month earlier this year but anyone in financial difficulty as a result of the change can expect no mercy from the Revenue, The Sunday Business Post reports.
New regulations that require tax advisers to report tax avoidance schemes being used by clients have been referred to the attorney general over concerns accountants will be put to a disadvantage to tax lawyers, according to The Sunday Business Post.
The Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has today published the Finance Bill 2011. The Ministers speech and the Bill itself can be found here
A key provision of the Budget – the restriction of property based Capital Allowances has been deferred until ‘the next tax year’ pending the publication of an economic impact assessment of the changes. All that lobbying paid off!
The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 came into effect on 1 January 2011. The Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Dermot Ahearn, T.D has noted that the changes required to introduce civil partnership into the tax and social welfare codes also come into effect from 1 January. The relevant tax legislation is expected in the forthcoming Finance Bill.
The Revenue Commissioners carried out more than 11,000 audits last year and almost 500,000 assurance checks. The chances of coming under the scrutiny of the taxman are unlikely to lessen in 2011 but significant changes should benefit businesses and the self-employed who have to undergo the rigours of an audit.
The Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has today published the Finance Bill 2011. The Ministers speech and the Bill itself can be found here
A key provision of the Budget – the restriction of property based Capital Allowances has been deferred until ‘the next tax year’ pending the publication of an economic impact assessment of the changes. All that lobbying paid off!
The taxman collected €160m less from audits last year, with Revenue conducting 1,400 fewer audits during 2010, according to The Sunday Business Post.