JP McManus, the Switzerland-based businessman, has told The Sunday Independent his decision to live abroad had nothing to do with tax avoidance.
“I didn’t leave this country for tax purposes; I left because I wanted to set up a business abroad. I paid my taxes before I left the country in full. I didn’t leave to avoid paying tax or any future tax or anything like that,” he said.
“All animals are equal – but some are more equal than others”.
George Orwell’s famous truism springs readily to mind when reading the main news story in The Sunday Times, which reports the Taoiseach and some government ministers are still claiming the so-called ‘dual-abode allowance’ tax break reserved solely for senior politicians.
The Revenue owes around 70% of PAYE workers hundreds of millions of euro and would like to pay up but very few individuals ever come forward to claim it, according to The Sunday Business Post.
Ireland is one of the few EU countries that doesn’t tax visiting entertainers performing in Ireland – and now the Revenue has confirmed it simply isn’t worth doing so.
The richest people in Ireland trust their children to look after their inheritances more than their counterparts in other countries, according to a survey by Barclays Wealth reported in The Sunday Times.
The government is committed to raising almost €5 billion in additional taxes over the next four years and it is becoming increasingly clear where they intend to get it, according to The Sunday Business Post. The headings below outline the grim scenario we face:
New government: same practices. In case there was any doubt about the retention of the back of an envelope as the favoured calculating tool of politicians and the Department of Finance, the latest working paper by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) should allay the fears of those Luddites who shun change.
A €1.9 billion deficit in the Social Insurance Fund must be addressed in the Budget, leading to increased speculation PRSI might be extended to include unearned income such as rent, dividends and shares, according to The Sunday Business Post.
Now the dust has settled on the presidential election jamboree, the media is beginning to turn its attention from the circus to the bread with increased coverage on what is likely to befall us in the upcoming Budget.
A Sunday Times reader asks if she and her sister are liable to pay UK withholding tax on the proceeds of dividends from British bank shares they inherited. Neither sister works outside the home and they have no independent incomes, although both their husbands pay tax here at the higher rate.
Newspaper columnist Jill Kerby advises a self-employed reader he will not be eligible to offset a loss on the disposal of a foreign property against the tax generated on income from his web-based business.
Revenue have introduced a facility to pay tax by credit card, limited to VISA and Mastercard. For now, payments can be made by telephone only. The dedicated telephone service is available Monday to Friday 9.00 – 17.00 on 1890 27 37 47 (+ 353 1 828 8045 for international customers). Payments by credit card will incur a transaction charge of 1.69% of the value of the payment.
No more excuses. No more procrastination. Come in Mr Taxpayer your time is up.
That’s the key message from both The Sunday Business Post and The Sunday Times, both of which devote copious space to the upcoming October 31 and November 15 tax deadlines.