The Irish pension landscape is changing rapidly. 2021 saw a plethora of publications, primarily from the Pensions Authority setting out the framework under which pension schemes will have to operate. There is more to come between now and when Auto Enrolment (a pension investment Scheme making personal pensions mandatory for all employees) arrives in early 2024 as part of Government’s strategic plan to increase pension coverage in Ireland to help combat long term pension deficits as our population ages.
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In 2021 IORP II was transposed into Irish law, and this has been a game changer for those that want to invest and control what their pension scheme invests in, the popular asset being property. While the pension framework has become more complicated and requires sound professional advice to navigate through, it is still possible to invest in unregulated assets such as property or assets not readily available through off the shelf pension scheme. Indeed, it remains possible to borrow within a pension arrangement to invest in property. The key is to understand each pension arrangement, and which one is right for you?

The franchise sector is an important contributor to the Irish economy both in terms of the employment it creates and the wealth it generates. The growth in the franchise sector in Ireland looks set to increase through new franchisees setting up their own businesses, through existing indigenous businesses using the franchise model for expansion and through new non-Irish franchises entering the market due to our strong domestic economy.

Business Format Franchising is a business method in which the franchisor (developer) grants to the franchisee (investor) the right to run a business selling a product or providing a service under the franchisor’s business format and identified by the franchisor’s trademark or brand. This includes a format for the conduct of the business, a management system for operating the business and a shared trade identity.

Franchising is a comprehensive business relationship whose four essential elements ensure a better success rate than starting a non-franchised business. These are:

If you rent out your property, or a room in your property to visitors for short-term lets there are certain tax implications, and there may also be other rules that you need to follow. Short-term lets are stays of less than 14 days at a time, for example, if you rent out your property on a booking website such as Airbnb.

If you are renting out a property, or a room in your property for short-term lets, you may have to apply to your local authority for planning permission to change the use of the property, so it can be used for tourism and short-term letting purposes.

Travel insurance can seem like a boring and unnecessary item on your pre-travel to do list – why spend money protecting yourself against a holiday disaster which may never happen? However, expensive holiday disasters, such as cancellation, medical emergencies or lost possessions, can strike at any time, whether you’re popping over to Europe for a long weekend or travelling the world for two years.

The main items covered by travel insurance are:

• Cancellation Cover
• Emergency Medical Expenses and Repatriation – NOTE There are many travel medical plans available that include Covid related medical expenses. But since not all do, it’s important to verify Covid coverage before buying a plan if it’s a priority for you.
• Personal Possessions, Travel Documents and Gadgets.
• Activity Cover - Some travel medical insurance policies won’t cover expenses that resulted from activities such as mountain climbing, skydiving or parasailing.

Revenue has introduced concessions for income tax & corporation tax for employees of Ukrainian employers required to work from Ireland because of the ongoing war in Ukraine for the 2022 tax year. Irish-based employees of Ukrainian employers will not be liable to Irish income tax & USC on Ukrainian employment income that is attributable to the performance of duties in Ireland. The Ukrainian employers will not be required to operate the PAYE system on such employment income. The concession relates solely to employment income that is paid to the Irish-based employees by their Ukrainian employer.

The concessionary treatment will apply for the tax year 2022 where:

• The employee would have performed his/her employment duties in Ukraine but for the war they are unable to, and
• The employee remains subject to Ukrainian income tax on his/her employment income

​The corporation tax concession will disregard the presence of employees, directors, service providers and agents who have come to Ireland because of the war. Revenue may request documentary evidence relating to the reallocation of the individual to Ireland, e.g. a record of the arrival dates to Ireland.