Jan 2014
30
Jan 2014
28
Employers don’t miss your P35 deadline!!!!
The deadline for the 2013 P35 is 15th of February 2014. The extended date for ROS customers who pay & file on line is 23rd February 2014.
Important Points:
There are severe penalties for failure to lodge end of year returns within the time provided. A delay in lodging the P35 return may cause employees unnecessary difficulty and delay when claiming Social Welfare benefits.
Form P60s
Between 1st of January and 15th of February, employers must give their employees a P60, showing Total Pay, Tax and PRSI contributions etc for the year ended 31st of December.
All employees in your employment on 31st of December should be provided with a P60. If an employee ceases employment on 31st December they should be given a form P45 and a form P60.
Revenue no longer issue P60 stationery, employers can print P60s for their employees from Thesaurus Payroll Manager/BrightPay onto blank stationery.
P35 FAQs can be found on Revenue’s website
Jan 2014
22
Thankfully, we are living longer! This, however, presents a huge challenge for any country’s retirement strategy. Back in 1950, there were 7.2 people aged 20–64 for every person of 65 or over in the OECD countries. This is projected to reduce to 1.8 by 2050. The math is stark. To fund a state pension which pays modern day equivalents to people retiring at 65 will soon become an impossible task. Apart from increasing the already huge tax burden to pay for pensions, there are really only two ways of addressing the problem. One, the retirement age needs to increase and, two, people will need to have private pensions or other incomes to supplement their state pension.
Auto Enrolment addresses the latter. It imposes a legal obligation on employers to enrol their employees in pension schemes and to contribute to these pensions. A deduction is made from the employee’s pay plus the employer contributes as well. Auto Enrolment began in the UK for very large employers in 2012 and is being rolled out to include all employers by 2017. The combined minimum deduction and contribution of 2% is designed to ease employees and employers into the concept but this combined level rises to 8% by 2018.
It should be noted that employee participation is optional. The employer must enrol them but they may subsequently opt out. Therefore, employees who feel that they are otherwise covered (e.g. through rental property and/or other investments) do not have to partake in Auto Enrolment.
The various rules surrounding Auto Enrolment and the structures that need to be put in place are numerous and represent a major undertaking for government, employers and pension companies.
Auto Enrolment (or similar) is an absolute necessity and it is somewhat surprising that Irish plans in this regard are not more advanced.
Jan 2014
20
The European Commission has issued a six-month grace period with regard to the upcoming Single Euro Payments Area system, beyond the Feb 1 deadline.
While it technically remains in place, the update means firms not in full compliance by the start of next month won’t suffer from their payments systems being automatically shut down and leaving them unable to pay staff or suppliers.
SEPA is being introduced by the commission to improve domestic and cross-border payment efficiency within the EU. Until a few days ago, non-compliant firms were facing a countdown to their credit transfers and direct debt facilities ceasing to function.
“An efficient single market needs an efficient SEPA. The entire payments chain — consumers, banks, and businesses — will benefit from SEPA and its cheaper and faster payments,” said Michel Barnier, the internal market and services commissioner.
“Cross-border payments are no longer exceptional events which is why an efficient cross-border regime is needed.”
He noted that migration rates for credit transfers and direct debits are not yet high enough to ensure a smooth transition to SEPA by the beginning of next month. He stressed that while existing payment systems will be accepted for another six months, the start of February remains the preferred migration deadline.
“I have warned, many times, that migration was happening too slowly and call once more on member states to fully assume their responsibilities and accelerate and intensify efforts to migrate to SEPA so that all can enjoy its benefits. The transition period will not be extended after August,” he added.
A recent survey by ISME showed that only 22% of small firms in Ireland were SEPA-compliant in the run-up to the end of 2013.
