KEVIN McLOUGHLIN

EY Ireland

Head of Tax EY Ireland

OPERATIONS We will be moving to a hybrid working model this autumn, and we are really looking forward to all the benefits that will flow from that. The world of tax has become much more tech enabled in recent years, but in the past 18 months we have seen a breathtaking acceleration in tech adoption amongst our clients. It has been a very positive experience in terms of really driving innovation, and we’re excited to keep this momentum going.

TAX ISSUES There are significant changes taking place in the global tax policy landscape currently. It remains unclear how things will ultimately change, but the next two months or so will be important in this regard and could have far-reaching implications. The pandemic and changes in global taxation have taken up more of our clients’ time and attention than Brexit this year, primarily because most clients had strong mitigation plans in place to deal with Brexit and its impact.

TAX INCENTIVES Incentives such as EII, SURE, KEEP, and the R&D tax credit are important for different reasons. Whether these incentives remain in place or not pales in comparison to the need for Ireland to be really competitive on the non-tax side. It is now more important than ever for government to really focus on both tax and non-tax factors, to continue to ensure that Ireland provides a very positive broad business environment to support indigenous business to grow, and to continue to attract international investment.

GREEN ECONOMY Taxation has an important role to play in helping us to shape the kind of future we want. Government can be really smart in how it uses taxation as a lever to incentivise the behaviour change we need, and the carbon tax is a good example of that. Striking the right balance between the carrot (incentives) and stick (mandates) in how governments around the world tackle climate change is really important.

If you look at the transport sector, it is challenging from an emissions perspective here in Ireland. Many argue that we could be doing more to incentivise businesses to change their fleets to be fuelled by greener energy sources.

ENTREPRENEUR RELIEF We should be looking carefully at what incentives should be introduced to tap into the capital that successful entrepreneurs realise on a successful exit. Research from EY’s own Entrepreneur of the Year programme shows the consistent pattern among entrepreneurs of reinvesting in a way that boosts the regional economy and local employment.

The €1m lifetime limit is a really small amount of capital to unlock when you look at the amount successful entrepreneurs can raise on the sale of their business. Entrepreneurs are not confined to reinvesting in Ireland, and other countries offer regimes that can be more attractive. It’s a missed opportunity for Ireland, we should be doing more to incentivise the reinvestment of successful exits into further ventures here on this island.

‘Taxation has a role to play in helping us shape the kind of future we want’