Under an EU directive, a reduced VAT rate can now be applied to the supply f sonar panels for use on public buildings, housing and private dwellings.The Government should take advantage of a new European Union directive to reduce or eliminate VAT on solar equipment to unlock the renewable energy sector’s potential and achieve its climate targets, the Irish Solar Energy Association has said.
On Monday, the ISEA, the representative body for the Irish solar industry, said reaching Ireland’s climate ambitions will require a “dramatic shift towards renewable electricity” and a “significant contribution from solar energy”. The standard 23 per rate of VAT currently applies to the supply of solar panels. But papers drawn up by the Tax Strategy Group in advance of Budget 2023 indicated that following the bloc-wide tax directive, a reduced rate can now be applied to the supply of solar panels for use on “public and other buildings used for activities in the public interest, or on housing and private dwellings”. The lowest rate that can be applied is now zero per cent, the Group said.
It has also called for the Government to and encourage farmers to make their land available for solar farms by removing a “quirk” the Capital Acquisitions Tax regulations, which currently acts as a “significant barrier”.