Revenue "clampdown" - Are US Shares an 'offshore asset'?


See the Revenue FAQ, a copy of which has already been posted here (at least twice). If funds going into it are not tax compliant, or income generated from it have not been declared, the answer is "yes", you do need to declare it. If everything is compliant, it depends on when it was opened. If it was opened before Revenue started asking whether you had opened an account in the last year, the answer is "no" (does anyone know when they started asking this?). If opened since they started asking the answer is "yes", and you are being given an opportunity to correct the form where you should have done so. Some people have raised doubts about what they mean by "account". Personally, if it fell into the "yes" category and I had any doubts I would declare it.

That's the best summary I can give: if anyone thinks it is incorrect, please let us know (and why).
 
Which is utterly ridiculous. The salient point is that an individual is tax compliant. An undisclosed foreign bank account for bona fide reasons shouldn't be of interest to Revenue. Is such a disclosure requirement even compliant with EU law? A current account with Santander in Marbella should be the same as a current account with BOI.
 
Gordon there is no EU law that regulates how a foreign account must be handled , every EU country has its own laws and rules. For example in my original country (EU) if you are tax resident there and have a foreign account (even if it's in another EU country) which goes above 15.000 € in a specific year you must declare it even if you have no tax liabilities.
 
TD Waterhouse opened a Dublin office some years after the UK ,they were the first discount broker to challenge the Irish broker monopoly and attracted a large clientele.Most investors would have their account opened and based in Ireland.The bank TD Direct use for account deposits IS AIB,but if you nominate your account in sterling or dollars you transfer funds direct to RBS in London.I presume the euro account opened In Ireland is non reportable but the sterling account is.
 

Not necessarily relevant. I would question the validity of treating a Portuguese account differently relative to an Irish account in the context of the Treaty of Rome.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Not necessarily relevant. I would question the validity of treating a Portuguese account differently relative to an Irish account in the context of the Treaty of Rome.
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Do you mean requiring disclosure of it treats it differently? Which Treaty article / fundamental freedom do you think it contravenes?
 
torblednam said:
Do you mean requiring disclosure of it treats it differently? Which Treaty article / fundamental freedom do you think it contravenes?
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I am not definitively saying that it contravenes it. I'm am simply saying that treating EU good/services differently and "favouring" a good or service in your own country over the same service in another EU country needs to be considered in the context of the Treaty of Rome.

I would be interested to hear what an EU Court would have to say about Irish legislation that imposes a €4,000 fine and a disclosure requirement in respect of an account in Spain/Germany/Portugal, and no such requirement for an Irish account.
 
Palerider said:
Not just EU accounts, the net is wider than that.
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Clearly. Nobody is saying it isn't. EU States are free to discriminate against non-EU good and services as they see fit.

But legislation that discriminates against (say) Portuguese accounts versus Irish accounts?

I'd be surprised if that's not contrary to EU law.
 

What good or service provision is being discriminated against by Revenue?

Bank accounts are different, depending on where they are located: Revenue has powers in relation to Irish accounts, but not overseas ones, where it has no jurisdiction. Hence to get the information, it asks for it, though as they point out information exchange between authorities is being enhanced.
 
I am not definitively saying that there is an issue.

All I'm saying is that I would be interested to hear what the EU would make of Irish legislation which attaches disclosure obligations and a €4,000 fine to (say) Spanish or Portuguese current accounts when no such obligations arise in respect of Irish ones.
 
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54 countries have signed up to report non resident financial activity to each other this year,another 45
from 2018.
 
Revenue is probably being criticized unfairly re offshore accounts. I think this disclosure requirement stems from last years budget which makes Michael Noonan and Fine Gael the "villains" in this debacle.
 

I won't profess to be an expert on the application of EU law, but I don't see how requiring a disclosure in a tax return of the existence of an account etc could breach any of the treaty freedoms. It in no way restricts the freedom of movement of capital.
 

Well arguably it does in that it creates a barrier to opening an EU bank account. It gives preferential treatment to an Irish product/service over an EU one.

We have veered off-topic (my fault).
 
Question with regards to 'foreign account'...a relation of mine (not computer literate) opened a Northern Ireland bank account approximately eight years ago. They put STG£200 into it and the same amount is in it today. No money in or out and no gains from it.

They say the reason for opening it was down to a fear of the euro collapsing back in 2008/2009. Are they liable to make a disclosure? And if so, would they be hit with 'surcharges' for not declaring it before now (cost of surcharges?)?
 
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