IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Amelia O’Beirne and Trevor Glavey, A&L Goodbody
Non-resident persons are subject to Irish CGT on gains arising from the disposal of specified Irish assets. Such assets include: • land and buildings in Ireland; • minerals in Ireland (or any rights, interests or assets relating to such minerals); • assets used or held for the purposes of a trade carried on in Ireland; • shares deriving the greater part of their value from land, buildings or minerals in Ireland; • exploration and exploitation rights of Ireland’s sea - bed and subsoil; and • shares deriving the greater part of their value from exploration and exploitation rights of Ireland’s sea - bed and subsoil. For companies, there are various reliefs from CGT on the transfer of assets intra-group and in the context of company reconstructions and mergers. Various reliefs from CGT are also available for individuals, including for entrepreneurs disposing of certain busi - ness assets. Individuals are also entitled to an annual exemption from CGT on the first EUR1,270 of gains arising in a tax year. 3.5 Employment Income Employment income is subject to deduction at source by the employer of employee taxes – ie, income tax, USC and PRSI under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system. See 2.3 Taxation of Resident Individuals for the rates of income tax and USC applicable for 2026. Currently, employer PRSI applies at the rate of up to 11.25%, and employee PRSI applies at a rate of up to 4.2% (from 1 October 2026, the rate of PRSI (employ - er and employee) will increase by 0.15%). As a small open economy, Ireland recognises the need for incentives to attract talent to support investment. In line with this policy, Ireland operates a number of regimes designed to support short-term assignees to Ireland and cross-border employment. One such relief is the Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP). An employee assigned to work in Ireland by their existing employer may be entitled, subject to certain condi - tions being satisfied, to claim a deduction from their employment income tax liability under SARP. For employees who arrive in Ireland after 1 January 2026,
the proportion that can be deducted is 30% of income over EUR125,000, up to a limit of EUR1 million. The rise of remote working poses particular challeng - es for employees, tax administrations and employ - ers. From an Irish tax perspective, Ireland does not have standalone rules relating to remote working. As such, it is important to note that, where an individual performs employment duties in Ireland for a foreign employer, this can give rise payroll withholding obli - gations and, depending on the circumstances, per - manent establishment risk (subject to the terms of Ireland’s DTAs). It is advisable for employers to put in place policies and procedures governing remote working to help mitigate these risks. 3.6 Other Income Ireland’s tax legislation ensures that income which does not fall into any of the specific categories addressed previously is still brought within the charge to tax. In practice, such income is taxed as passive or non-trading income. This ensures that income not oth - erwise covered by specific trading, passive or catego - ry-based rules does not fall outside the Irish tax net. 4. OECD/G20 Global Tax Reform 4.1 Pillar One – Amount B Ireland has taken steps to implement Amount B, albeit adding its own domestic conditions, restrictions and compliance requirements on top of the OECD frame - work. Specifically, the Finance Act 2024 introduced Amount B rules in Ireland for chargeable periods com - mencing on or after 1 January 2025. Ireland only applies Amount B where the counterparty is in an OECD “covered jurisdiction”. A covered juris - diction for these purposes is a jurisdiction included in the list of covered jurisdictions for the Inclusive Framework political commitment on Amount B, pub - lished by the OECD on 17 June 2024. Broadly, Ire - land will respect the Amount B outcome determined in accordance with the OECD Pillar One Amount B guidance where such an approach is applied by a covered jurisdiction with which Ireland has a DTA and the profits of the distributor, sales agent or commis -
195 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook