Our advisory services are designed to promote growth and help achieve goals. We can advise you through the complex array of opportunities, challenges and risks...
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Brexit Advisory
Our Brexit Advisory team offer insight and guidance surrounding impacts and opportunities that Brexit has created for organisations.
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Corporate Finance
We offer a dedicated team of experienced individuals with a focus on successfully executing transactions for corporates and financial institutions. We offer an integrated approach, with our corporate finance specialists working seamlessly with tax and other specialists to ensure that every angle is covered.
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Digital risk
Grant Thornton offers solutions to the digital risk issues you are sure to face. Our skilled and experienced security team can helping by advising and consulting, giving you peace of mind, clear value for money and an enhanced ability to react to attacks.
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Economic Advisory
Our all-island Economics Advisory team combines expertise in economics and business with a wealth of experience across the public and private sectors.
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eDiscovery
Grant Thornton are the leading provider of eDiscovery services in the country and have been for years. Our incident response team managed the electronic discovery in the largest eDiscovery in Irish history.
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Forensic and Investigation Services
We have a different way of doing business by delivering real insight through a combination of technical rigour, commercial experience and intuitive judgment. We take pride in delivering responsive and tailored solutions to all our clients, capitalising on the wealth of experience housed within our Belfast and wider Forensics team
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People and Change Consulting
The Grant Thornton People & Change Consulting practice works with clients on these issues as well as on all aspects of how they attract, retain, engage develop, deploy and lead their people.
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Restructuring
We work with a wide variety of clients and stakeholders such as high street banks, private equity funds, directors, government agencies and creditors to implement solutions which provide the best possible outcomes.
At Grant Thornton, we provide a personal, proactive and partner-led approach to both advisory and compliance work. Our team of experienced tax advisors provide...
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Corporate and International tax
Northern Ireland businesses face further challenges as they operate in the only part of the UK that has a land border with a country offering a lower tax rate.
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Employer solutions
Our team specialises in remuneration and incentive planning and works closely with employers, shareholders and employees to ensure that business strategies are aligned and goals achieved in the most tax efficient, cost-effective manner.
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Entrepreneur and private client taxes
Our team of experienced advisors are on hand to guide you through any decision or transaction ranging from the establishment of new business ventures, to realising value on exit, to succession planning and providing for loved ones.
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Global Mobility Services
Grant Thornton offer a different approach to managing global mobility. We have brought together specialists from our tax, global payroll, people and change and financial accounting teams across Ireland and Northern Ireland, while drawing on the knowledge and insights of our global network of over 143 offices of mobility professionals to provide you with a holistic approach to managing global mobility.
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Outsourced Payroll
Our outsourced service provides valued service to over 150 separate PAYE schemes. These ranging from 1 to 1000 employees, working for micro, SME and global employers. The service is supported by the integrated network of tax and global mobility teams and the wider Grant Thornton network delivering a seamless service. Experienced staff deliver a personal service built around your business needs.
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Tax Disputes and Investigations
Our Tax Disputes and Investigation team is made up of tax experts and former HMRC investigators who have years of experience in dealing with a variety of tax investigations. Our expertise and insight can guide you through all interactions, keeping your cost at a minimum while allowing you to continue with the day to day running of your business.
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VAT and Indirect taxes
At Grant Thornton (NI) LLP, our team helps Northern Ireland businesses manage their UK and global indirect tax risks which, as transactional taxes, can quickly become big liabilities.
Brexit: Tax issues to consider
The long term tax implications of a vote to leave will depend on what alternative arrangements the UK is able to negotiate. There will be a 2 year period following any vote to leave during which the withdrawal terms are agreed. So there should not be any immediate ramifications as the existing position should continue during this period. This time frame allows the UK to renegotiate its position going forward. Without knowing what future agreement including transitional rules are agreed, it is impossible to set out the long term tax implications. Attached are some tax considerations assuming no future agreement with the EU can be reached.
Customs Duties
- Free trade Brexit would remove the UK’s participation in Free Trade Agreements which the EU has, covering trade with over 120 countries, and although the UK may elect to eliminate customs duty on imports from some or all of those countries, it does not necessarily follow that those countries will reciprocate, and may impose duties on UK exports.
- Declarations Leaving the EU would abandon the free movement of goods which is one of the key benefits of the Single Market. Whether or not customs duty may apply to trade with the EU following Brexit, the fact that the UK is outside the EU means that customs declarations need to be made for all goods leaving and arriving in the UK – this will add time and cost to the supply chain, as well as requiring additional border control resources.
- Lower limits? Exit from the EU would remove the freedom of people in the UK to purchase unlimited quantities of alcohol, tobacco and road fuel from EU countries, for their own consumption (end of the “booze cruise”). It would also prevent UK haulage companies from refuelling outside the UK without paying UK road fuel duty (currently around 20p a litre higher than its nearest EU neighbours). This will increase commercial transport costs, which will be passed on to consumers through increased retail prices
Mobility
- Accessing talent Although Brexit is unlikely to lead to a mass exodus of EU nationals currently living in the UK, UK businesses may need to re-think how they bridge the “skills gap” if going forward they are not able to hire EU nationals without visa requirements.
- Rising costs The cost of mobility is set to increase as frequency of flights and the ease and efficiency of business travel within the EU decreases. Organisations may need to re-think their business travel policy.
- Social security Whilst the impact on tax is likely to be minimal, EU legislation governs the social security position within the EEA and Switzerland and in the event of a Brexit the UK would have to agree alternative agreements with EU countries to avoid potential double social security costs. Furthermore there could be an impact on state pension entitlements if contributions made to other EU countries no longer count towards state pension entitlement.
- Regulatory burden EU legislation sets minimum standards in certain employment law aspects and ensures there is no discrimination. However, particularly small and medium sized businesses can find this administratively burdensome and a barrier to employment. Brexit potentially opens up the opportunity to step away from EU legislation in this area and to ensure that UK laws are fit to support UK businesses.
VAT/Direct tax
- Import VAT and cash-flow if we exit the EU, there will potentially be Import VAT physically levied on the import of goods from the UK to EU member states and vice-versa. This could have adverse cash-flow implications for businesses, as this Import VAT will likely need to be physically paid before the goods are cleared into the UK before the VAT is recovered through a VAT return.
- EU VAT registrations and additional administration being outside the EU may mean that if the services provided by a British company requires a local VAT registration in an EU member state, then it may be forced (as an non-EU business) to appoint a local Fiscal Representative. This will likely add additional cost and administration to providing certain services.
- VAT rates we will likely gain new freedoms in relation to the setting of VAT rates. Currently zero and reduced rates can only apply to specified goods and services set out in the relevant Annex of the European Principal VAT Directive. However, if we leave the EU, then the Government could introduce additional reduced rates which would be beneficial to British consumers.
- For direct tax we may no longer be able to benefit from EU tax directives such as the parent/subsidiary directive which provides for reduced withholding taxes on dividend payments to UK recipients. This may not have a huge impact as the UK has one of the most extensive double tax treaty networks. However the position should be checked as not all treaties reduce the withholding tax to zero”.
