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Focus on
Corporation Tax
powers devolution
With Corporation Tax devolution
powers set to be devolved to the
Northern Ireland Assembly, and
a Northern Ireland rate of 12.5%
coming in to play on 1 April 2018,
it is critical that all companies are
aware of the tax changes and
their respective preparedness.
With this in mind we recently ran
a seminar with PwC on the detail
of the tax changes and how they
would affect your business.
A copy of the slide presentation
is available for members from the
CEF website.
In addition, PwC have a free tool
that companies are encouraged
to use so that you can ascertain
your own preparedness for the
introduction of the Northern
Ireland rate of Corporation Tax in
April 2018.
The link to the diagnostic tool,
called NI Ready, is here -
https://mytaxpartner.pwc.com/
tools/ni-ready
You may need to register at the
following address first in order to
access the diagnostic:
www.mytaxpartner.com
The registration process is
straightforward and takes a
couple of minutes. Registration
also gives you access to a wealth
of other free tax diagnostic tools,
modellers and advice, in addition
to NI Ready.
Should you have any specific
queries then please feel free to
contact Martin Fleetwood from PwC
via the details below:
Martin Fleetwood
PwC | Partner
Office: +44 (0)2890 415486 |
Mobile: +44 (0) 7803 832442
Email: martin.fleetwood@uk.pwc.
com
CEF |29
THE VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY IN NORTHERN IRELAND
EU Referendum casts growing
shadow over Northern Ireland’s
construction sector
Around a fifth of Northern Ireland’s construction companies are operating at less than half capacity, with
demand in GB and the Republic of Ireland (RoI) also down.
That’s according to the latest State of Trade survey from the Construction Employers’ Federation (CEF) and PwC.
The survey also suggests that uncertainty over the forthcoming EU referendum outcome may be impacting on industry
confidence, with 80% of Federation members saying that the UK should stay in the EU.
The latest CEF assessment for the first three months (Q1) of 2016 shows that close to a quarter (22%) of companies
were operating in survival mode, while the percentage of companies confident of growth and profitability fell slightly from
50% in Q1 2015 to 48% in Q1 2016.
The proportion of firms reporting that their current workload had increased rose slightly to 33% in Q1 2016, from 27.5%
in Q1 2015 but remained well below on the first three months of 2014 when half of companies surveyed reported
increased demand and workload.
Two years ago, in Q1 2014, almost a quarter of CEF members’ work done was in construction activity outside Northern
Ireland (almost entirely Great Britain and RoI). That fell to 17% in Q1 2015 and then again in Q1 2016, when only 13% of
work was in GB and/or RoI markets.
The decline was largely driven by a reduction in work in GB - down from 15% in Q1 2014 to about 10% throughout 2015
and falling to 6% in Q1 2016, the survey found. Commenting on the survey results CEF Managing Director John Armstrong,
said the industry was not showing any real signs of sustainable recovery:
“This is another survey which suggests that the construction sector is not sharing in Northern Ireland’s modest economic
recovery, let alone the significant growth that is being exhibited elsewhere in the UK and Ireland.
“The proportion of companies in survival mode is up, those anticipating growth and profitability are down and the
percentage of work in Great Britain and Ireland has fallen.
“This picture is reinforced by official data from NISRA’s Construction Bulletin, which reported falling output in the latter
half of 2015.
“While industry output stood at £618m during Q4 of 2015 – a year on year rise of 3% - this actually represented a fall
from £643m during Q1 of the year and falls significantly short of the all-time high of £904m in Q1 of 2007.
“We are operating in an environment where growth in housebuilding is broadly flat and where output in infrastructure and
roads has actually declined.
“The one glimmer of light is that over a third of our members say they expect things to get better – I sincerely hope they
are right.
“Construction and infrastructure accounts for around 6% of UK GDP. But it also delivers instant results – direct
employment, high wages, indirect jobs, and greater community cohesion. The new Executive therefore needs to work with
the industry to develop and deliver a significant pipeline of projects which will be crucial to the long term sustainability and
success of the construction industry in Northern Ireland.
“We urge the Executive to look at their infrastructure opportunities and priorities and to act. There is an opportunity to
give confidence to developers, and incentives to the industry, which combined, will accelerate growth into the economy.”
CEF also reported that 60% of their full and associate members had responded to their survey in respect of EU
membership, with 80% believing that the UK should remain within the EU. Only 16% of members said they would support
leaving, John Armstrong said:
“This is an industry for which borders represent barriers, where access to the EU market is important and where mobility
of labour and currency stability is crucial.
“The fall in construction output across the UK in
Q1 of 2016, has been attributed to concerns over
the implications for continued EU membership.
This may, in part account for the somewhat
downbeat Northern Ireland results, but it is
clear that the industry, right across the UK, has
concerns about the outcome of the vote on 23
June.
“And while CEF has itself not taken a position
on this debate, it is clear that the overwhelming
majority of members are concerned at the
implications for the UK of leaving the EU.”