Offshore

A. Finance Act 2016 introduced new rules which will take effect from 01 May 2017 in relation to offshore assets, gains and income which were never reported or incorrectly reported by Irish resident taxpayers.

From this date you will no longer be able to avail of a qualifying voluntary disclosure in respect of income or gains earned directly or indirectly from a source outside of Ireland.

 

A qualifying disclosure is a type of voluntary disclosure made to Revenue before the commencement of a Revenue audit whereby you admit to under-declaring taxes in previous tax periods. The benefits of making a qualifying disclosure are:

 

• mitigation of penalties;
• non-publication as a tax defaulter; and
• protection from criminal prosecution in relation to the tax default.

 

From 01 May 2017 these benefits will be withdrawn in respect of disclosures of underpayment of taxes on foreign source income.

 

 

Date published 17 Feb 2017

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.