• Auditor, External Acountant or Tax Advisor.
• Trust or Company Service Provider.
• Private Members’ Club at which gambling activities are carried on.
• Any person trading in goods involving payments, to the person in cash, of a total of at least €15,000.

The notice states as follows:

1 The Act places obligations on a wide range of “designated persons” including those listed above in relation to money laundering and terrorist financing controls.

It is a matter for designated persons to familiarise themselves fully with their obligations under the Act and with the penalties for non-compliance. The Act obliges “designated persons” to:

• identify customers and to undertake Customer Due Diligence in business dealings,

• to report suspicious transactions to An Garda Síochána and the Revenue Commissioners and

• to have procedures in place for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing including record keeping, staff training and the maintenance of appropriate controls.

2 Authorisation of Trust or Company Service Providers (TCSPs) -The Act introduces an authorisation requirement to carry on the business of a Trust or Company Service Provider. Applications for authorisation must be made by the 15th July 2010 on the official form*. It will be an offence to carry on the business of a Trust or Company Service Provider without an authorisation from the Minister. An application fee will apply.

Trust or Company Service Provider services are defined as:

a. forming companies or other bodies corporate;

b. acting as a director or secretary of a company under an arrangement with a person other than the company;

c. arranging for another person to act as a director or secretary of a company;

d. acting, or arranging for a person to act, as a partner of a partnership;

e. providing a registered office, business address, correspondence or administrative address or other related services for a body corporate or partnership;

f. acting, or arranging for another person to act, as a trustee of a trust

g. acting, or arranging for another person to act, as a nominee shareholder for a person other than a company whose securities are listed on a regulated market.

This authorisation requirement does not apply to persons whose TCSP activities are already subject to supervision or regulation by the Financial Regulator, a designated accountancy body, the Law Society of Ireland or the General Council of the Bar of Ireland.

3 Private Members’ Clubs and gambling activities – The Act introduces a requirement for persons directing private members’ clubs at which gambling activities are carried on, but only in respect of those gambling activities, to register with the Minister for Justice and Law Reform. Registration must be made by the 15th July 2010 on the official form* (see below for details).

The administration of these functions will be carried out by the Department of Justice and Law Reform’s Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Unit (AMLCU).

*Further information on the Act and application forms for TCSPs/Private Members’ Gaming Clubs are available from our website http://www.antimoneylaundering.gov.ie or by emailing antimoneylaundering@justice.ie

Non-members are welcome to attend and should send a cheque made payable to STEP Ireland for €30 to Eddie O’Regan, AIB, Executor and Trustee Services, PO Box 512, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Julie Burke is principal of JM Burke Tax Solicitors and has extensive specialist knowledge and experience of Revenue Law and the investigations process.   She is a Fellow of the Irish Taxation Institute and is well-known as a tax author and lecturer. Julie is the editor of the Irish Taxation Institute’s Irish Tax Review. She was a member of the Irish Government’s Revenue Powers Group and the Commission on Taxation.   She is currently a member of the Tax Administration Liaison Committee in relation to audits and other Revenue interventions.  

The Act makes provision for a new system of financial support for those in need of long-term residential care, and the aim of the new legislation is to make nursing homes “accessible, affordable and anxiety free” and replace the former nursing home subvention scheme, which was seen by many as inequitable.

Under the new Scheme, before receiving State support, a financial assessment will be carried out to determine the amount that an individual will need to contribute to their care; that is 80% of their assessable income and 5% of the value of their assets per annum.  Where the assets include land and property, this latter contribution may be deferred and collected from their estate, or if the property is sold or transferred in advance.  This deferral is known under the legislation as Ancillary State Support and consists of a loan advanced by the State.  In exchange, a charge will be registered against the asset.  This will have obvious implications for the beneficiaries under the Wills of those receiving the support in that the assets the subject of the charge will under Section 47 of the Succession Act, in the absence of an clear expression to the contrary in the will,  be  taken subject to the charge. 

In addition, the application for Ancillary State Support, the giving of consent to the charging order and related actions must be carried out by a care representative where the person requiring care does not have full capacity to make decisions concerning the matter, and has not appointed an attorney under an enduring power of attorney or been made a ward of court.  Potential conflicts of interest are likely to arise where the care representatives are the same persons as those due to benefit from the charged asset under the Scheme.

Practitioners should also be aware of the provisions of Section 27 of the Act which inter alia obliges the personal representatives of the estate of a person who was in receipt of Ancillary State Support to send a copy of the IRA to the HSE and holds the personal representatives personally liable for repayment of the loan if they fail to so notify the HSE and retain sufficient funds to pay off the loan.

The introduction of the new Scheme is an additional issue that should be taken into account in advising clients in respect of their Wills and estate planning, and personal representatives in the administration of estates. Any Wills/Probate instruction checklist/questionnaire should ideally take account of this issue.

The theme is ‘New Developments and Trends for Trusts and Estates in 2010′.

Speakers and Topics will include:

• Latest developments and trends in estate litigation – Robert Houghton SC
• Law Reform in 2010 – Patricia Rickard-Clarke
• Finance Act 2010 – Finola O’Hanlon
• Dealing with debt in estates -legal and tax issues – John Gill and Amanda Comyn
• Debt in estates – the banking perspective – Harry McIntyre

CLICK HERE to download the STEP Ireland Annual Conference 2010 brochure.

STEP Ireland would like to thank Rothschild for the sponsorship of the event.
Rothschild are the STEP Private Bank of the Year 2009/10.

The presentation will take place on Wednesday 21 April at 6.30pm in the Merrion Hotel, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2.

Non-members are welcome to attend and should send a cheque made payable to STEP Ireland for €30 to Eddie O’Regan, AIB, Executor and Trustee Services, PO Box 512, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

The presentation will look at the importance of family businesses in the Irish economy as well as recognising that each family business is unique. The presentation will consider issues around business succession as well as other matters. It will also recognise that tax advisers, solicitors and accountants will often provide excellent solutions to the tax and legal issues which face their clients, however they may sometimes disregard the other “softer” issues which are impacting on the family and the business. These softer issues can be the most important in understanding the client’s requirements and devising solutions. A more holistic approach may need to be adopted by practitioners. The aim of the presentation will be to assist practitioners in identifying these key softer issues and how to manage them.

Group A: €414,799
Group B: 41,481
Group C: 20,740

The Seminar will take place in the afternoon of Thursday the 26th November 2009 from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. in the Irish Taxation Institute, Longboat Quay, Grand Canal Harbour Dublin 2.

The cost of the seminar is €120 and it counts for 2 hours CPD.

The speakers are: Dearbhla Cunningham, BL; Aileen Keogan, Solicitor and Tax Consultant; and Monty Raphael, Peters and Peters in London

The Seminar will deal with the following issues:

• The types of situations where assets are protected
• How assets are protected: the use of companies, trusts and transfers to relatives
• What assets are most suitable for protection
• The effect of protection in each case
• Jointly held assets
• Charged assets
• The charges that arise on creation of the protective structure
• The effect of the protection on administering assets
• Charges arising on releasing the protection
• Personal insolvency: a threat to asset protection
• Insolvency: Companies and individuals
• Liquidation: the procedures; personal liability for directors; Guarantees
• Bankruptcy: the procedures; the family home
• Asset Protection – A UK perspective
• Asset protection – an idea that has had its day?
• The drive for transparency
• Current HMRC practice?”

To book the seminar, go to the Irish Taxation Institute’s website http://www.taxireland.ie

The seminar will take place on Monday 21 September 2009 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the President’s Hall in the Law Society, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.

The fee is €192 per person. There is a reduced fee for Skillnet/Public Sector bookings of €115.20 per person (a saving of €76.80).

The seminar will count for 3.5 CPD Hours General (by Group Study). The Law Society Seminar code is 09035

During the “boom years”, thousands of Irish people invested in property abroad. In addition, we have had more immigration than ever. These factors can result in difficulties where there is a conflict between two or more jurisdictions. Issues of taxation can also arise and it is important to be able to identify these. This is a growing area of practice and increasingly these matters require careful consideration by practitioners.

This seminar aims, with the help of case studies, to give practitioners an introduction to international succession and tax issues that can arise. It will outline the implications of foreign divorces in Ireland and their acceptance. It will also consider the procedures to follow when extracting a grant of representation with a foreign dimension

Full details of the topics and issues covered are set out below (or see www.lawsociety.ie). A booking form is attached.

TOPICS AND ISSUES COVERED

1. International Succession Issues: International succession issues – how to determine which jurisdiction has jurisdiction! Are there conflicts of law? Common law v Civil law; Forced heirship; Are moveable assets and immoveable assets treated differently; EU Proposals – Green Paper on Succession law.
2. Recognition of Foreign Divorce for Probate: How does one obtain probate in an estate where the deceased obtained a foreign divorce; In what circumstances is the foreign divorce recognised by Irish law; What other options are available if the surviving spouse will not co-operate? The impact of the 2000 Regulations; Applicable case law; Practical case study
3. Grants of Representation with a Foreign Dimension: Powers of the Probate Office; What are the requirements of the Probate Office? Intestacy – moveable and immoveable property – the entitlement to extract the Grant – the requirements for the Affidavit of Law; Foreign wills – validity – the entitlement to extract the Grant – the requirements for the Affidavit of Law; Proving a foreign will – how do you prove a will that has been translated?
4. Double Taxation: What taxation issues arise where the deceased held foreign assets? Are there double tax agreements dealing with capital acquisitions tax?; Is there double tax relief if tax is suffered in more than one jurisdiction? Practical case study

SPEAKERS:

Madeleina Loughrey- Grant, Farrer & Co Solicitors, London Madeleina specialises in advising on trust, estate planning and taxation issues particularly in the context of offshore planning. She also advises on the creation and operation of trust structures and has also advised on family office structures. Madeleina is qualified in both the Republic of Ireland and England & Wales and spends a significant proportion of time in Ireland developing the Farrer & Co International Private Wealth offering.

Lorna Gallagher B.L., Lorna is a practising barrister specialising in the areas of probate, trusts and taxation. She spent four years lecturing with the Irish Taxation Institute and has been published extensively in the Irish Tax Review. Prior to practising as a barrister she worked as a tax specialist with KPMG.

Annette O’Connell, Probate Office. Annette currently holds the statutory position of Probate Officer with the Courts Service. She was called to the Bar in 1984 and holds the STEP Diploma in Trust and Estate Planning. She lectures and tutors in Probate for the Law Society.

Finola O’Hanlon, O’Hanlon Tax. Finola is a tax solicitor working with O’Hanlon Tax Limited, a firm which advises generally on all tax matters. She is a Fellow of the Irish Taxation Institute, a member of STEP and the DSBA and is a co-author of the Irish Taxation Institute’s Book “The Taxation Of Capital Gains”. Finola regularly lectures and tutors on taxation matters for The Law Society, STEP and the ITI.

Jane Florides of Kennelly & Twomey Ltd specialist tax advisors, will present on the different uses of trusts to meet this ever pressing wealth protection requirement and will outline saving ideas for use in succession planning.

The presentation will take place on Wednesday 22 April 2009 at 6.30 p.m. in the Merrion Hotel, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2

The presentation will be followed by wine and canapés.

CPD certificates will be available for all attendees.

Please confirm if you would like to attend by emailing norah.collender@icai.ie and confirm if you are a STEP member.

Non-members are welcome to attend and should send a cheque made payable to STEP Ireland for €30 to Eddie O’Regan, AIB, Executor and Trustee Services, PO Box 512, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.