Finance Act 2013

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Professional services withholding tax.

93.— (1) Chapter 1 of Part 18 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 520(1) by inserting the following definitions:

“ ‘partnership trade or profession’ means a trade or profession carried on by two or more persons in partnership;

‘precedent partner’, in relation to a partnership and a partnership trade or profession, has the same meaning as in section 1007;”,

(b) in section 520(1) by substituting the following for the definition of “specified person”:

“ ‘specified person’, in relation to a relevant payment, means the person to whom that payment is made but, in a case where the relevant payment (including a payment to which section 522 applies) is in relation to a professional service that is provided in the conduct of a partnership trade or profession, means each person who is a partner in the partnership;”,

(c) in section 522(a) by substituting “the insurer shall, subject to section 529A, discharge” for “the insurer shall discharge”,

(d) in section 523(1)(b) by substituting “The specified person or, where section 529A applies, the partnership” for “The specified person”,

(e) in section 523(2) by substituting the following for paragraph (a):

“(a) in accordance with section 522 or 529A, a relevant payment has been made to a practitioner or, as the case may be, a partnership by an authorised insurer, and”,

(f) in section 523(2) by substituting “the practitioner or, as the case may be, the partnership” for “the practitioner” in each place,

(g) in section 524(1) by substituting “Subject to subsection (1A), the provisions” for “The provisions”,

(h) in section 524 by inserting the following after subsection (1):

“(1A) (a) Where a relevant payment (including a payment to which section 522 applies) is made in accordance with section 529A(1), the precedent partner shall furnish the tax number of the partnership to the accountable person.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), ‘tax number’ in relation to a partnership means—

(i) the registration number allocated by an inspector in relation to the operation by the partnership of value-added tax, or any other tax, or the reference number stated on any return, form or notice issued by an inspector in relation to the partnership, or

(ii) where appropriate, the tax reference of the partnership in another country.”,

(i) in section 524(2)—

(i) by inserting “or, as the case may be, the precedent partner has complied with subsection (1A),” after “subsection (1),”,

(ii) in paragraph (a) by inserting “or, as the case may be, of the partnership” after “specified person”, and

(iii) in paragraph (b) by inserting “or, as the case may be, the partnership’s tax number as furnished in accordance with subsection (1A),” after “subsection (1)”,

(j) in section 524 by inserting the following after subsection (2):

“(3) For the purposes of this section, an accountable person may—

(a) require a specified person or, as the case may be, a precedent partner to provide evidence from the Revenue Commissioners that the income tax or corporation tax number of the specified person or, as the case may be, the tax number (referred to in subsection (1A)(b)(i)) of the partnership, that is provided to the accountable person, relates to that specified person or, as the case may be, that partnership, or

(b) request confirmation from the Revenue Commissioners as to whether the income tax or corporation tax number that is provided to the accountable person by a specified person or, as the case may be, the tax number (referred to in subsection (1A)(b)(i)) of a partnership that is provided by a precedent partner, relates to that specified person or, as the case may be, that partnership.”,

(k) in section 525(2) by inserting “or, where section 529A applies, each partnership” after “each specified person”,

(l) in section 526 by substituting the following for subsection (3):

“(3) The specified person shall, where requested by the appropriate inspector, furnish the following in respect of each amount of appropriate tax included in a claim under subsection (1) or (2)—

(a) the form given to the specified person by an accountable person in accordance with section 524(2), or

(b) in the case of a specified person who is a partner in relation to a partnership trade or profession, the documentation referred to in section 529A(3).”,

(m) in section 526(4) by substituting “which is included in relation to the specified person in the forms or, as the case may be, the documentation referred to in subsection (3)” for “which is included in the forms furnished in accordance with subsection (3)”,

(n) in section 526 by inserting the following after subsection (4):

“(5) References in this section to corporation tax chargeable and to income tax chargeable shall be construed in accordance with the definition of ‘amount of tax chargeable’ in section 959A.”,

(o) in section 527(1) by substituting “make an offset or interim refund” for “make such refund” in each place,

(p) in section 527(2)(b) by deleting “(whether by credit for appropriate tax or otherwise)”,

(q) in section 527(2)(c) by inserting “or, in the case of a specified person who is a partner in relation to a partnership trade or profession, the documentation referred to in section 529A(3)” after “section 524(2)”,

(r) in section 527 by substituting the following for subsection (3):

“(3) (a) The amount of the tax available for offset or interim refund shall be the excess of the total of the appropriate tax not already repaid under the provisions of this section, which is included in relation to the specified person in the forms or, as the case may be, the documentation referred to in subsection (2)(c), over an amount equivalent to the amount of tax referred to in subsection (2)(b).

(b) Where an excess arises in accordance with paragraph (a), the excess shall be offset under section 960H to the extent that the specified person has a liability (within the meaning of that section) and any balance of the excess shall, subject to the Acts, be refunded to the specified person.”,

(s) in section 527(4)(a) by substituting “make an offset or interim refund” for “make an interim refund”,

(t) in section 527(4)(b) by substituting “the offset or interim refund” for “the interim refund”,

(u) in section 527(4)(b) by substituting the following for sub-paragraph (ii):

“(ii) the amount of appropriate tax deducted from relevant payments in relation to the specified person in respect of which forms or, as the case may be, the documentation have been furnished in accordance with subsection (2)(c) after deducting from that amount any amount of such tax already offset or refunded in relation to the period for which the claim to a refund is made.”,

(v) in section 527(4)(c) by substituting “offset or refund” for “refund”,

(w) in section 527 by substituting the following for subsection (5):

“(5) Where the specified person claims and proves the presence of particular hardship, the Revenue Commissioners may waive, in whole or in part, one or more than one of the conditions for the making of an offset or refund specified in this section and, where they so waive such a condition or conditions, they shall determine, having regard to all the circumstances and taking into account the objects and intentions of subsections (1) to (4), an amount of an offset or refund or a further offset or refund which they consider to be just and reasonable and they shall make such offset or refund or, as the case may be, such further offset or refund accordingly.”,

and

(x) by inserting the following after section 529:

“Partnerships.

529A.— (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, where a professional service is provided in the conduct of a partnership trade or profession then, for the purposes of this Chapter, an accountable person may make a relevant payment (including a payment to which section 522 applies) in relation to that service in the name of the partnership.

(2) Where a relevant payment (including a payment to which section 522 applies) is in relation to a professional service that is provided in the conduct of a partnership trade or profession, then for the purposes of sections 520(2), 526 and 527—

(a) the relevant payment shall be deemed to have been made to each person who is a partner in the partnership in the proportion in which profits or gains of the partnership trade or profession for the chargeable period involved are to be apportioned amongst the partners, and

(b) appropriate tax deducted from the relevant payment shall be apportioned solely between the partners and in the same proportion referred to in paragraph (a).

(3) Where an apportionment as referred to in subsection (2) applies to a relevant payment and to the appropriate tax deducted from that payment, the precedent partner shall, for the purposes of sections 526 and 527, provide details of the apportionment that applies to the payment and the appropriate tax deducted, and the basis for that apportionment, in a statement issued to each partner in the partnership, together with a copy of the form given to the precedent partner by the accountable person in accordance with section 524(2).

(4) The statement referred to in subsection (3) may be issued in writing or by electronic means (within the meaning of section 917EA) and shall be in such form as may be approved by the Revenue Commissioners for that purpose.”.

(2) Schedule 13 to the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by deleting paragraphs 131, 133, 163, 165 and 166, and

(b) by inserting the following after paragraph 188:

“189. Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland.

190. Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.

191. Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.”.

(3) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), this section applies from the date of the passing of this Act.

(b) Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) applies as and from 1 May 2013.