Skip to content
Edit Content

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

News section

Irish Law

There’s never been a better time to start or to move a business to Ireland. There are many excellent reasons to relocate whether if it is the favourable low tax regime and supportive environment for start-ups, being a hub for digital workplace solutions, incentives to intellectual property to the availability of well-educated workforce. Ireland is the place to be.

Ireland’s performance as a hub for Foreign Direct Investment is unrivalled. It has also a proven track record as a successful location for world leading established and high growth multinational companies from around the world. One third of multinationals in Ireland have had operations in the country for over 20 years.

Contact us for more information

Favourable low tax regime

Ireland is an ideal place for companies to centralise their activities from both a business and tax perspective. In particular, companies based in Ireland can own and exploit intangible assets with a low effective tax rate.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development -OECD cites Ireland as the second most progressive for income tax among its 36 member countries, and the most progressive among its EU members.

In relation to business, Ireland has also some tax incentives such as:

  • 12.5% corporation tax rate on active business income.
  • A 25% credit on qualifying R&D expenditures; total effective tax deduction of 37.5%.
  • Ability to exploit Intellectual Property at favourable tax rates.
  • Accelerated tax depreciation allowances for approved energy efficient equipment.
  • Ability to carry out investment management activities for non-Irish investment funds without creating a taxable presence in Ireland for such funds.
  • An effective legal, regulatory, and tax framework to allow for the efficient redomiciliation of investment funds from traditional offshore centres to Ireland.

Supportive environment for start-ups

New or start-up companies, which commence trading between 2009 and 2021 and set up and commence a qualifying trade between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2018 may be eligible for start-up companies’ relief.

This relief is available for three years from the commencement of the trade. The relief takes the form of a reduction in the corporation tax liability relating to the new trade (including chargeable gains on assets used in the trade) and is capped at the amount of the employer’s social insurance contributions made on behalf of the company’s employees in the period.

Incentives to Intellectual Property

Legislation provides for a tax deduction for capital expenditure incurred by a company, which is carrying on a trade, on the acquisition of qualifying IP assets. Tax depreciation is available for capital expenditure incurred on the acquisition of qualifying IP assets. The deduction is equivalent to the amortisation or depreciation charge on the IP included in the accounts. Alternatively, a company can elect to claim tax deductions over 15 years, at a rate of 7% per annum and 2% in the final year.

Holding Company Location

Irish tax legislation provides for an exemption from capital gains tax for Irish resident companies on disposals made from qualifying shareholdings in other companies.

Well-educated workforce

Ireland has one of the most educated workforces in the World. According to the OECD 52% of 25-34 year olds have a third level qualification; 10% higher than the OECD average. Source: OECD – Education at a Glance 2015

Ireland’s highly educated workforce is ideally suited to solving very complex problems for customers. Robotic process automation and other technologies facilitate them by freeing up time to spend on delivering those solutions.

Hub for Digital Workplace Solutions

The technology incentives created by Irish policies has made the industry uniquely suited to the new world of work being created by the Covid-19 pandemic. The great majority of roles can be performed remotely with no impact on quality or productivity. This is an ideal environment for companies looking for global business services partners or to expand their own customer experience operations.

How we can help

Our lawyers work across sectors and borders to deliver truly international commercial advice, mitigating risk and highlighting opportunities. Our ability to be able to provide in-house, country-specific legal expertise is something that few UK-based law firms like us can offer.

Del Canto Chambers specialists are constantly up to date with new legislative changes and aware of any tax and legal implications especially those derived from Brexit. We understand local and regional Irish business practices, the tax and legal issues and the regulatory practices. Our clients can rely on credible advice, tailored to their unique requirements, whilst taking into account the diverse and complex legal and tax systems in the country they wish to do business in.

With coronavirus related travel restrictions set to continue for the foreseeable future, we have developed a virtual Hispanic Dispute Resolution Centre in London via our offices based in the Strand. At Del Canto Chambers we work with local accounting, financial, tax and business advisory services we can put our clients in touch with for local Irish business support.

Del Canto Chambers offers a turnkey project management approach with a full-service support system, including decision-making protocols and timelines. We offer proven turnkey solutions to successfully manage international projects with multiple local country partners, helping you navigate international complexities. This holistic turnkey approach facilitates effective coordination between different parties, and jurisdictions, ensuring that projects are delivered on time and budget, from initial execution through to completion.

Why choose Del Canto Chambers?

Del Canto Chambers provides dual-qualified, multi-lingual tax lawyers, who have worked on over 500 cases throughout Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, making us the counsel of choice for London-based and international clients, corporations, solicitors and tax advisers.

Major Cases

Corporate Cases
We have worked on several corporate cases including some of the worlds leading companies in media, luxury boats, football clubs, NGOs, investments and much more

If you wish to make an enquiry, please complete the form below. We will get back to you within 24 hours.


In accordance to the Bar Standards Board, we hereby inform you that you may contact us for a quotation.