Tax Changes for Irish Expats and Those Living in Ireland
Published on Friday, September 11th, 2009
A series of significant taxation changes have been proposed in the latest Irish Commission on Taxation report. The report is produced ahead of the next Budget in Ireland in December, by which time the Minister of Finance will have decided upon which proposals to implement, which to amend and which to dismiss.
The tax changes proposed in the Commission on Taxation for Irish expats as well as those living in Ireland are really quite significant and may well affect Ireland’s considered standing as a low taxation nation in which to live and work for example. However, there are a couple of very positive proposals that might benefit the construction sector and the overall housing market in Ireland…so it’s not all bad news.
In this report we’ll discuss some of the most significant tax change proposals that may well affect you if you’re an Irish citizen residing abroad, or an expatriate living and working, earning your income and paying taxes in Ireland. Additionally, if you’re an owner of property in Ireland or you want to enter the market, the proposed tax changes affecting the construction industry will be explored as well.
The rise of the Celtic Tiger has been spectacular and the Irish property market has soared alongside the growth of this European nation. Following on from an IMF report in 2000 that stated that Irish property prices were unlikely to continue to grow strongly for long, house prices actually went on to triple between 2000 to 2006.
The only news coming out of Ireland’s property market at the moment is bad, very, very bad. Repossessions in the North have risen by almost 100%, commercial prices are falling at an unprecedented rate, and Ireland fell into recession before the rest of the eurozone as its housing market crashed.
With property prices having fallen by 30% in Northern Ireland already in the year to date, and prices for homes in the Republic of Ireland falling almost as fast, what can home owners and would be buyers find to be positive about? You’d think the answer would be ‘very little’ – what with the lack of mortgages compounding the sense of doom and gloom all round.
It’s been a while since we reported on the Irish housing market because there has been very little of a positive nature to share with you. But now the Bank of Ireland has released its latest findings and future predictions relating to Irish real estate, and whilst the bank doesn’t cast a sunny glow on the prospective fortunes of Irish property prices for at least the short term, it does at least clarify the situation in Ireland at the moment.
A new survey by Maplecroft which is a UK based global risk advisory company has examined which countries in the world are likely to be most vulnerable to climate change and which ones will fare best when the ice caps melt, sea levels rise and the climate goes crazy. This report is entirely serious but we’re finding it a little hard to take without a pinch of salt..
Unfortunately the cost of living in Ireland is far from cheap. And we were reluctant to produce this article because we didn’t want it to sound like we at Shelter Offshore focus on knowing the cost of everything but the value of nothing! You see, the value of living a good life in Ireland can be more than worth the relatively high cost of services and goods…
