The Irish Taxation Institute Annual Conference 2011

The Irish Taxation Institute Annual Conference 2011 was held in Galway last week. Independent Trustee Company were proud to support the conference for the tenth consecutive year and were well attended at the event.

A number of excellent presentations were made covering all areas of taxation from VAT to income tax to capital taxes. Not surprisingly, Pensions was, in itself, a detailed presentation and was also a hot topic of discussion among many delegates, given the recent changes in Finance Act 2011 and the implications it will have for advisors and their clients.

The main points from the pensions presentation were:

• Personal Fund Threshold (PFT) applications by 7th June 2011 – Irish Times article on Saturday confirmed that 144 applications have been made to date with Revenue
• Impact of longevity on pension planning – ’60 is the new 40’… Ireland’s population is aging rapidly
• Dividing pensions in family law cases – the impact of Pension Adjustment Orders on spouses ability to fund for pension
• Changes made to Approved Retirement Funds (ARFs) since Budget 2011 – availability of ARF to all members of DC arrangements and the new AMRF rules
• Potential restrictions on tax relief going forward – following on from the previous governments four year plan, there is still no confirmation from the new government if the tax relief on personal contributions will be restricted to standard rate by 2014.
  
  
  Many of these topics were covered in our recent On The Pulse Knowledge Forum in March, which is available on our website and will be further discussed at our next Knowledge Forum scheduled for May.
  
  
  There are still a number of points from the Finance Act 2011 that need clarification particularly around the new AMRF rules and the PFT. We have contacted Revenue on a number of these queries and hope to bring you further clarity on these matters and others at the next Knowledge Forum scheduled for May.
  
  
  If you have a query regarding your Personal Fund Threshold, Pension Adjustment Orders or if you would like to attend our next Knowledge Forum please call Simon Keegan on (01) 6611022 or email justask@independent-trustee.com.