Q. I have two sites one in the mid Shannon Tourism Scheme, the other a nursing home. How long do I have to develop these sites and obtain the related tax benefits?
A. The Finance Act 2009 introduced some changes that you need to be aware of:
Mid Shannon Tourism Scheme
You might have read in a previous article that one of the conditions of this scheme was that the Mid-Shannon Tourism Infrastructure Board must grant approval in principle for investment projects in advance of expenditure being incurred. Before the Finance Act 2009, an application for such approval in principle must have been made by May 31 2009. This amendment extends the period during which such applications can be made to May 31 2010.
Before the Finance Act 2009, the period within which expenditure must be incurred for capital allowances purposes was the three-year period ending on May 31, 2011. Because of the new date for the submission of applications for approval in principle, this period was extended to 31 May 31, 2013.
The extension of both dates is a reflection of the poor take up on the scheme to date
Other Property Schemes
The Finance Act 2009 implemented the changes announced on April 7 2009, the day of the budget, in relation to expenditure incurred on the construction or refurbishment of certain health-related facilities in order to provide for the termination of these capital allowances schemes with the usual transitional measures for certain projects. The health facilities are registered nursing homes, convalescent homes, qualifying hospitals and mental health centres.
These schemes that had no end date in relation to incurring qualifying expenditure for capital allowances purposes now have a termination date of 31 December 2009 unless certain qualifying criteria are met
Termination dates beyond December 31, 2009 will only apply where certain qualifying conditions are met by that date. The qualifying conditions depend on the type of work to be carried out and whether or not the work requires planning permission.
— No planning permission required - the termination date is 30 June 30, 2010 so long as at least 30 per cent of the construction or refurbishment costs have been incurred on or before December 31, 2009.
— Planning permission required - a valid application for full planning permission must be submitted before December 31, 2009, and be acknowledged by the relevant planning authority. In such cases, the termination date for qualifying expenditure is 30 June 30, 2011 in the case of registered nursing homes, convalescent homes, and mental health centres and December 31, 2013 in the case of qualifying hospitals.
