Should Australian Business Owners And Investors Move To Ireland? When It Actually Makes Sense

• WATCH THE IRELAND EPISODE FIRST
• This article is based on the Ireland episode of The Wealth Safe Country Series – “When Does Ireland Actually Make Sense?”
• If you prefer video, watch the episode above for the full discussion with Virna White.
• The article below expands on the strategic questions Australian business owners, founders and investors should consider before deciding what role, if any, Ireland should play in their international future.

Why Ireland Attracts Australian Business Owners And Investors

When Australian business owners think about building an international future, Ireland is not always the first country that comes to mind. Singapore might be. Dubai might be.

But for the right person, particularly someone looking towards Europe, Ireland can be an extremely interesting jurisdiction.

It has a sophisticated business environment, access to Europe and an internationally recognised corporate system. And Ireland’s 12.5% corporation tax rate on qualifying trading income is obviously one of the things that attracts international businesses.

But none of that tells me whether Ireland actually makes sense for you.

When Does Ireland Actually Make Sense For An Australian Business Owner Or Investor?

So, do I think Ireland can make sense for an Australian business owner or investor? Absolutely. For the right person, with the right commercial or personal objectives, Ireland can potentially perform a very valuable role within an international position.

But at Wealth Safe, when I am designing an international strategy, I do not start with the country. And I do not start with the company. I start with what you are actually trying to create.

Because before we can design the architecture, we need to understand what we are designing it for.

Before The Architecture Comes The Vision

I worked with a husband and wife, Peter and Sophie. They had sold their Australian property portfolio and accumulated substantial wealth across cash, precious metals and investments.

But what interested me was not simply where their assets should sit. It was the future they were trying to create.

Their children were becoming adults. They wanted to leave Australia and establish a life in Europe. They wanted greater international flexibility. They wanted to continue investing globally. And they wanted their wealth, residency and broader international position to support that future.

That is where strategic architecture actually begins. Not with, “Should we establish an Irish company?” But with, “What are we actually trying to create?“

Because once I understand where you are today and where you are trying to go, I can begin designing the strategic position required between those two points.

The vision gives us something to design for. The architecture is the strategic design that follows.

Vision is not architecture.

Architecture Is Much More Than Structure

This is an important distinction.

When I use the word architecture, I am not simply talking about structures. A company can be part of the architecture. A trust might be part of it. Banking might be part of it. But none of those things, individually, is the architecture.

Why Your Australian Starting Position Still Matters

For Peter and Sophie, we first had to understand their Australian starting position:

• their residency;
• their existing assets and investments;
• what they were leaving behind;
• what they wanted their future position to look like;
• where they intended to live; and
• how their wealth and investments would operate internationally.

Only then could we determine what role Ireland should actually perform.

That is very different from saying, “Ireland has an attractive tax environment, so let’s establish an Irish company.”

The structure should follow the architecture. And the architecture should follow what you are actually trying to create.

Why Ireland Cannot Be Considered In Isolation

Ireland also demonstrates why you cannot assess a jurisdiction in isolation.

For individuals moving to Ireland, residence, ordinary residence and domicile can all affect how different categories of income are taxed, including the treatment of certain foreign income.

An Irish company brings another set of considerations. An Irish-incorporated company will generally be Irish tax resident, subject to relevant treaty rules. And questions around where companies are actually managed and controlled can also become important within the wider international position.

But this is exactly why we do not begin with individual tax advantages. The technical rules have to sit within the broader strategic position:

• Where are you resident?
• Where is the business actually operating?
• Where are the important decisions being made?
• What remains in Australia?
• What is happening with the investments?
• And what role is Ireland actually intended to perform?

A technically attractive feature does not determine the architecture. The complete position does.

How The Architecture Connects Where You Are Today With The Future You’re Trying To Create

This is probably the easiest way to understand what I mean by strategic architecture.

You have a position today. And you have a future you are trying to create. The architecture is the strategic design that connects the two. It considers where you are today, the future you are trying to create, the complete strategic position required to support it and what role, if any, Ireland should perform within it.

As Chief Strategist at Wealth Safe, my role is not to tell you what your future should look like. It is to understand what you are trying to create and design the architecture capable of supporting it.

That means looking at the complete position: residency, business, ownership and control, assets and investments, banking, family considerations, what remains in Australia, what may need to exist internationally and, importantly, what needs to happen in what order.

Why Specialist Expertise Is Not The Complete Architecture

Specialist expertise then has an important role within that broader position.

The Australian accountant brings expertise in Australia. The Irish specialist brings expertise in Ireland. But neither, individually, is determining your complete international future.

Somebody still has to see the whole picture and determine how those individual disciplines fit together.

That is the role of the Chief Strategist.

Ireland Is Not The Strategy — The Architecture Comes First

Ireland can make sense for the right person. But that is not the same as saying, “Ireland is a good country, therefore I should move there.” Or, “Ireland has an attractive corporate tax rate, therefore I should establish a company there.”

Those questions start too far downstream.

For Peter and Sophie, the starting point was never the Irish company. It was the future they were trying to create.

Don’t start with Ireland and build the strategy around it. Start with the future you are actually trying to create, design the architecture capable of supporting that future, and then determine what role, if any, Ireland should perform within it.

Because understanding Ireland is one thing. Understanding the future you are trying to create, and designing the architecture capable of supporting it, is something else entirely.

Conclusion

So the better starting point is not Ireland. It is:

• What am I actually trying to create?
• What should my future life look like?
• What should happen to my business and wealth?
• What needs to remain in Australia?
• What does my complete international position need to look like?

Then we design the architecture. And only then do we determine whether Ireland, or any other jurisdiction, actually belongs within it.

The country is not the strategy.

The architecture comes first.

If you are considering an international move and want to determine what your complete international position should look like before deciding whether Ireland belongs within it, you can request a complimentary 15-minute Suitability Assessment with Wealth Safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and provided for educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. You should obtain independent professional advice before acting on any information in this article.