Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 23B

Residence of SE or SCE

Section 23B establishes the tax residency rules for two types of European company — the Societas Europaea (SE) and the European Cooperative Society (SCE) — when their registered office is in the State.

• An SE or SCE with its registered office in Ireland is treated as tax resident in Ireland for the purposes of both the Tax Acts and the Capital Gains Tax Acts, subject to the same exceptions that apply under section 23A.
• If an SE transfers its registered office out of Ireland under the EU SE Regulation, or an SCE does so under the EU SCE Regulation, that transfer alone does not end its Irish tax residency.
• However, EU rules require an SE or SCE to keep its head office in the same Member State as its registered office, so a move of registered office will normally be accompanied by a move of management and control — which would end Irish tax residency.
• The practical effect is that while the legal transfer of registered office is not the trigger, the associated relocation of central management and control is what causes the company to cease being Irish tax resident.