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This is the second in a series of 12 articles for business owners and wealthy individuals. The family-owned business is the backbone of the Irish economy, and in many parts of the country such businesses are the primary source of employment and economic activity.

The main issue we fnd is that directors are so busy running the business that they forget to set aside funds for themselves over the years and when they get to the point at which they are closing, selling or liquidating the company, they find that they didn’t prepare enough and can’t avail of taking any real value from the company they spent their life building.

This is particularly true of service companies where the only real asset is the person and the skills they bring. Once they retire, the business has no function and very little value, so if they haven’t put funds away, they will be left with nothing.

You are allowed to take €750,000 as a business owner or €1,500,000 as a couple running a business

However, the sad truth is that most business owners would take less the €200,000 from their business when they move aside or dispose of it. We find that directors/business owners who are aware of the reliefs they can avail of, tend to take multiples more from their business, compared to directors who are not aware and therefore do not benefit from these reliefs.

In the absence of any relief, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) at a rate of 33% would be imposed on business owners who wish to sell their business or transfer it to their children. Retirement relief is a very valuable relief that would allow many business owners to reduce or indeed eliminate any charge to CGT and is the most commonly used by directors. It can be used by any business owner looking to, at some time in the future, retire from their business, gift their business to their children, sell the business or indeed liquidate the business, whilst at the same time extracting funds from the business.

From 1 January 2025, the following changes will apply:

• A limit of €10 million will apply to the value of business assets that family business owners aged between 55 and 69 could pass free of CGT to their children.
• The €3 million cap referred to above will now apply from age 70 onwards (instead of 66).

While increasing the starting age for the €3 million cap to 70 is a welcome change, introducing a limitation on the value of business assets that those aged 55 – 69 can transfer to their children could
result in family businesses needing to be sold of either in whole or in part in order to fund tax bills

Now is the time to act.

While 1 January 2025 might seem like a long time away, planning to transfer a business to the next generation is one of the most signifcant decisions a business owner could make and one that should not be undertaken lightly or without proper planning.

If your business might be worth more than the €10 million either now or will be at some stage in the future you need immediate advice to prevent your family from a major tax bill down the road. In order to consider the most appropriate course of action, now is the time to act, especially in light of the impending tax changes.

The issue is too big to leave it to chance, you need fnancial planners on board to help. We here at Moneytree Finance are the Only CFP® (Certifed Financial Planner) led team of fnancial advisors in West Cork and we can help.

We work with lots of directors and business owners from all types of businesses, from the corner shop, to construction companies, to factories, to one person service companies.

Several conditions apply for Capital Gains Tax relief for retiring business owners but they are easy enough conditions for a regular trading company. We can help you to understand what the requirements are and how to be ready to avail of this most important tax relief for directors, business owners and professionals.

Give us a call and see if we can be of service

Moneytree Finance Limited is West Cork’s only CFP® (Certified Financial Planner) led practice,
with 28 years’ experience in the financial services sector. We are a completely independent broker
company, working with leading life, investment and mortgage agencies. Making big decisions on critical issues is part and parcel of being a Company Director.

But without the right support and backup, and even when the decisions are taken with the best of intentions, they can have unintended consequences that are potentially detrimental to the company. It is essential when running any business in this modern, highly regulated era, that it is done properly. And that is where Moneytree Finance can help.

For example, directors often purchase assets without weighing up the most advantageous vehicle for that purchase, whether that be a trading company, investment company, pension purchase or personal purchase. Put into the wrong structure, the asset can carry severe tax implications down the line, and the last thing you want to do is to lay landmines for yourself in the future! Moneytree Finance can advise you on how to maximise your assets and avoid financial pitfalls by setting up the appropriate structures and using them to your benefit. We understand it can be daunting to make important decisions when you are unsure of exactly how to proceed, but at Moneytree Finance we have a wealth of experience to help you get the answers you need to make the best decisions for your company.

We will discuss any issue, particularly if it is causing you personal stress or putting your company under organisational or financial strain. It is so important to remember that business is a two-way exchange – if a director works for the business, then the business must also work for the director. This message can sometimes get lost in the day-to-day running of a business but the best advice I can give you is to look after your own welfare and always remember that any company is only as good as the people running it. Directors don’t use the professionals around them enough, most of us for example use our accountants simply for tax matters. We don’t use them for the full extent of their knowledge, which is a pity because they have vast expertise that can benefit us, if we know how to ask the right questions.

I often say, the outcome of a conversation about the company is not the important part; the important part is the conversation. It is not enough just to ask questions; they have to be to the right questions. This gives your advisors a clear idea of what you are trying to achieve, and enables them to give you the best advice on how to achieve your objective.

For advice, or even just a chat over a cup of tea, please give us a call. We are always happy to help.
I look forward to hearing
from you.

Moneytree Finance has agencies with Irish Life, Aviva, Zurich, Royal London, New Ireland and Quest.

We are also fully independent mortgage brokers with Haven/AIB, Bank of Ireland, PTSB, Finance Ireland and ICS.

Through our Mortgage Division we can help you achieve your first house or your forever home, and find finance for an extension or a new-build.

Over the coming year in The Opinion, I will explore different aspects involved in the role of being a company director. If there are any other topics not on the list that you would like to explore, please let me know.

• Capital Gains Tax Relief for retiring business owners – Take up to €750,000 tax-free from your company.
• Entrepreneur Relief – Take up to €1,000,000 at 10% tax from your company.
• Pension Auto-enrolment – What it means for the company, director and employee.
• Pension planning – PRSA fund-based investment for your retirement. Take up to €2,000,000 tax-free from your company.
• PRSA self-administered property-based opportunity from the change in PRSA laws last year. The ability to take up to €2,000,000 tax-free from the company.
• Loss of a critical person in the company. This is a particular pertinent for couples running companies, who have to deal with the company while suffering a personal loss.
• Exit Strategies for directors. Plan to have up to €3,750,000 tax efficiently from the company. (€7,500,000 for a couple).
• Company Structures. Understanding the difference between trading company, property/investment company and holding companies.
• Restricted Shares. How to use these to help bring someone on with a view to taking over the company or helping restructure in the event of a major loss of a key person.
• Inheritance Tax – assets held personally need more planning to help move them to the next generation efficiently A near miss – how selling the wrong asset first can create a tax bill, and
  understanding the value of a loss. Example of a near miss using Capital Gains tax relief for retiring business owners and how we solved the issue.