Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This section amends Chapter 3A of Part 33 and Chapter 3 of Part 38 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 Subsection (a) amends Chapter 3A of Part 33 which transposed Council Directive EU 2018/822, commonly known as DAC 6. This is the European directive on administrative co-operation that introduced a mandatory disclosure regime for certain cross-border transactions. The aim of DAC 6 is to assist Ireland and other member states in tackling potentially harmful tax avoidance involving cross-border arrangements. Section 817REA provides the Revenue Commissioners with powers of inquiry into compliance by intermediaries and taxpayers with regard to their obligations under DAC 6. The purpose of this amendment is to explicitly allow an authorised officer of Revenue to make inquiries into DAC 6 returns and ensure that such returns are made, where required in legislation.

Subsection (b) amends section 891I of Chapter 3 of Part 38. Section 891I was introduced in the Finance Act 2022 and partially transposed Council Directive 514 of 22 March of 2021, more commonly referred to as DAC 7. The main focus of DAC 7 is to tackle the under-reporting or non-reporting of income generated by digital platforms by introducing new reporting obligations for digital platform operators from 2023 onwards. DAC 7 also introduces new exchange of information rules for tax authorities.

Subsection (b) amends Section 891I, first, by outlining the information that must be supplied by a non-union platform operator when first registering with Revenue for the purposes of DAC 7; second, by clarifying the requirements that have to be met before a platform operator ID would be restored to a platform operator that has had its operator ID revoked previously in the State or in another member state; third by providing that a non-union platform operator does not have to provide information to Revenue regarding sellers in a member state if the information will also be exchanged by the non-union platform operator under an agreement between that member state and the country in which the non-union platform operator is resident; and, fourth, by amending the procedures to be followed by a reporting platform operator when a reportable seller has not provided it with the necessary information for reporting purposes. As a result of the previously outlined amendments, consequential changes are made to section 891(10) and 891(16).

The Deputy's question relates to DAC 7, the aim of which is to tackle the under-reporting or non-reporting of income generated by digital platforms by introducing new reporting obligations for digital platform operators from 2023 onwards.