On 8 October 2019, Govt. announced draft Budget 2020. This draft Budget introduced some amendments in respect of corporate income tax, transfer pricing, dividend withholding tax, personal income tax, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), anti-avoidance rules.
This draft Budget made a proposal to modernize transfer pricing rules. It introduces anti-hybrid rules (EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive – ATAD) and implement measures to combat base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). Finance Minister re-enforced Ireland’s 12.5% corporate tax rate on trading profits.
As the first step in a two-stage process under Budget 2020, , dividend withholding tax will be increased from 20% to 25% as of 1 January 2020. The second step is to introduce a modified Dividend Withholding tax regime from 1 January 2021.
