For the tax years 2004 to 2010, expenses incurred by an employer on behalf of an employee in connection with the payment (or reimbursement) of annual membership fees of a professional body were exempt from tax where such membership was regarded as “relevant to the business” of the employer.
Finance Act 2011 stated that this tax exemption is not available for the tax year 2011 and subsequent tax years.
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.
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.
