Introduction
by Tim McCarthy
 

Dear Reader

 

Welcome to the Autumn edition of our newsletter.

 

As our global news feed is dominated with the same topics every day, at Quintas we approach our news around topic’s our team believe are important to you, your business, your family and your overall wellbeing. We like to cover articles that give you an insight into every day issues and we pride ourselves in what is now a standard service mantra in Quintas “ Knowing what counts " 

 

Please enjoy the content prepared by our team and as always feel free to call me or any member of our experienced colleagues in Quintas.

 

Regards

 

Tim

 
Succession Planning – Do you have a Will and a plan to protect your loved ones from a large inheritance tax bill?
by Kevin Canning
 

Succession planning (sometimes known as inheritance planning) is hugely underused in Irish society. As a result, Revenue take in huge receipts on ill-prepared deaths in the form of inheritance tax. In 2018 alone, Revenue took in €466m in inheritance tax receipts. This has increased from €186m in 2010 (250% increase). In the same period, gift tax has remained relatively constant and minuscule in comparison (2018: €52m Vs 2010: €46m – although Revenue receipts did decrease in between). The difference between inheritance tax and gift tax is whether the assets are passed on death or not. This indicates to me that people plan their gifts while they are alive but not so much when they die.

CAT (which is inheritance and gift tax combined) is considered by many to be a very unfair tax. The reason for this is that an individual pays tax to accumulate assets during their lifetime either through income tax (up to 52%), CGT (33%) or CAT (33%). Then, the asset is taxed again on death when passing their estate to their loved ones. So why do you not hear more complaints about it?

 
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Gender Pension Gap: Women left €600 worse off each month!
by Anne O' Doherty
 

The full extent of the gender pension gap has been revealed, with retired women getting €153 less a week in pensions than men. A new report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found that men get €433 on average, with women receiving just €280. This means men are getting a third more than women in their pension pots - a gap of 35pc. Over a year, retired women receive on average almost €8,000 less than men.

 
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Planning your retirement income
by Denis Healy
 

As we are living longer and leading more active lives in retirement it is extremely important for all of us to plan for our retirement and ensure that we will have sufficient income to enjoy a comfortable retirement. I can recall, from pre-boom times, a previous employer’s word of advice to his employees being “Once your home mortgage is paid in full, the amount of the monthly mortgage repayment should be paid into a pension fund to help reduce the shortfall of income on retirement”.

 
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The journey from a trainee to qualified accountant
by Jennifer Kelly
 

As a trainee accountant in a busy practice from the get-go you need to learn to juggle work and college, as well as trying to fit in a bit of time to relax and just do things that you enjoy or even just spend time with family and friends. Thankfully, at Quintas this is definitely made easier.  When it comes to study the partners have a positive attitude towards always attending your scheduled classes for any upcoming exams and no matter how busy the workflow is they will always rearrange schedules in order to ensure that you are able to attend all your classes.

 
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Government Supports for Expanding Businesses
by Nicola Mullen
 

Are you an established business? Are you looking for new business opportunities but have no access to funding? Here is the why and how you need to expand your business.

In my previous Quintas Newsletter article I referred to the fact that now is the time for new start-ups to gain access to the market and exploit the opportunities/incentives that the Irish government are making available. The same applies for established businesses looking to expand their business model and now is the time to do it!

 
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Free Personal Insolvency Advice Scheme Extended for a further 3 years
by Mark Ryan
 

The Government recently approved the extension of the Abhaile scheme over the period 2020-2022 with a view to reaching the remaining households at risk of losing their homes due to mortgage arrears. 2022 is expected to be on a ‘wind-down’ basis, focused on completing any outstanding solutions for borrowers who have been advised under Abhaile; this is subject to Government review in 2021.

 

 
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Bar Stool Accountants – “It’s true I swear, I read it in The Sun!”
by Fachtna O' Mahony
 

I met a prospective client recently and during our discussion around his Income Tax Return he casually and confidently told me that he estimated his tax liability at €1,000. How’s that I asked – Well I have €16k coming in from renting out rooms in my house, a friend told me I’m allowed the first €14k tax free so €2k @50% is €1k. I had to gently inform him that his advice was incorrect, there is indeed an exemption of €14k but once surpassed, he’s taxed on the full amount received and duly estimated his liability at €8k.

 
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