Aidan Fahy, Chair, and Nora Ward, Secretary

The Taxation Committee had another busy year in 2025, representing the Law Society and its members through its engagement with the Revenue Commissioners and other stakeholders.

Taxation Committee members actively participate in the Tax Administration Liaison Committee (TALC) and its relevant subcommittees, where the Law Society engages with the Revenue Commissioners and other stakeholders (the Irish Taxation Institute, Chartered Accountants Ireland, and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), with the aim of facilitating more effective and efficient tax administration. The areas covered by TALC and related subcommittees include direct and capital taxes, indirect taxes, audit, collection issues, base erosion and profit shifting, R&D, Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT), and leasing. Other subgroups are formed to address specific issues as the need arises. Taxation Committee representatives acted as chair of main TALC, three TALC subcommittees, and one TALC subgroup in 2025.

The committee is also represented on the CCBE (Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe) Taxation Group and the Business Tax Stakeholder Forum (BTSF) established by the Department of Finance (and on related subgroups).

The committee contributed to the Law Society’s pre-budget submission for 2025 and also provided comments on different provisions of the Finance Act 2025 as it passed through the legislative process. The annual Tax Guide (summarising the tax changes) was produced in December 2025/January 2026, made available on the website, and hard copies were distributed to members with the January/February Gazette.

Numerous submissions were made on behalf of the committee over the course of the year, both via the TALC forum and directly to Revenue/Department of Finance, in respect of issues concerning taxpayers and practitioners (for example, regarding the Revenue’s proposed new Statement of Strategy 2025-2028; the tax treatment of interest in Ireland (30 January 2025); a proposed dividend withholding tax exemption for investment limited partnerships (16 June 2025), and the implementation of RZLT). The committee has worked closely with the Law Society’s Probate Committee and the Conveyancing Committee on matters and submissions of common interest.

The committee continues to provide updates to the profession via practice notes, and responds to the various taxation queries raised directly by members of the profession and other Law Society committees throughout the year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank long-standing committee member Ruth Higgins, who retired from the committee at the end of 2025 after many years of service. Finally, sincere thanks to all committee members and to the committee secretary for their valued contributions and hard work throughout the year.