Since 1967, the Irish Tax Institute has played an active role in the development of tax administration and tax policy in Ireland. We are deeply committed to playing our part in building an efficient and innovative tax system that serves a sustainable economy and a fair society. We are also committed to leading through tax education and are the only professional body in Ireland dedicated to tax.

Learn about our history over the last six decades. 

Irish Tax Institute's History Timeline

Norman Bale and Graham Williams (pictured) had great vision. Seeing the amount of change and transformation coming down the track in taxation, they placed an ad in The Irish Times on 9 November 1967 inviting interested parties to a meeting near St. Stephen’s Green the following day.

​10 November 1967: Institute of Taxation in Ireland was established

The mission for the Institute was clear. Promote the study of, research into and discussion of fiscal legislation, the administration and practice of taxation, and the principles of economic and political science as they relate to taxation and public finance.

It was agreed that we would use lectures, seminars, conferences and the publication of papers to share information and knowledge on tax. Our very first seminar, addressing the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968, was held in Trinity College Dublin on 6 April 1968.

The 1970s brought a raft of changes to capital taxes and the first of many chapters in EU tax history, including VAT. It was clear that domestic and international tax knowledge was becoming more important.

​​1978: Associate of the Irish Tax Institute (AITI) qualification was launched
(pictured our 1980 new Associates)

This decade also saw us begin publishing our legislative titles and quarterly newsletters for our members. Growing throughout our first five decades, we became a leading publisher of tax legislation and commentary books with over 340 titles.

Due to the popularity of the newsletter and increasing demand for technical insight, the newsletter developed into a comprehensive tax technical journal (pictured).

​1984: Irish Tax Review was born

In terms of tax policy, the 1980s saw the introduction of a self-assessment regime and five 'Commission on Taxation' reports. The Institute played a key role in bringing understanding to the issues affecting taxpayers, the self-employed and tax returns.

The scale of the Institute’s and our members’ contribution was recognised by the Government at that time, who acknowledged its “appreciation of the commitment and co-operation received from tax accountants and advisers in relation to the [self-assessment] changes introduced to date”.

By the end of the decade, we saw the establishment of the Tax Administration Liaison Committee (TALC), a liaison committee between the Revenue Commissioners and professional bodies including the Irish Tax Institute. It is a committee we are still actively involved in today on behalf of taxpayers in Ireland. 

Due to the increasing pace of tax changes, we held our first conference looking at domestic and international tax issues.

​1990: The first Annual Conference was held

The tax landscape continued to evolve at home and abroad alongside more guidance and Codes from Revenue. The information was coming thick and fast, and we needed to keep our members abreast of changes.

​1995: TaxFax, a weekly newsletter, was launched

This newsletter was well-received and has become a must-read amongst members every Friday. The well of knowledge was vast and the need to make research more efficient was apparent.

​​1998: TaxFind, an online research tool, went live (announcement pictured)

TaxFind became Ireland’s most comprehensive tax database, with over 16,000 users in 2025.

The new millennium saw further advancement in technology and the introduction of Revenue’s Online Service (ROS) in 2000. This sparked a new and unique initiative between the Institute and Revenue – the Joint Conference - with an agenda to address the use of technology in tax administration and the issues that may arise for taxpayers. The most recent Joint Conference was held in 2023 (pictured).

The changes in tax administration highlighted the need for a new compliance-focused qualification.

2003: Tax Technician qualification was launched

The Tax Technician programme was the only dedicated professional taxation compliance qualification in Ireland during a time where administration was changing.

It became clear that we would need to engage with Revenue more frequently to represent the concerns of our members, their clients and the public.

​2005: Branch Network was established

The role of the Branch Network was to identify local tax administration difficulties, promote discussion and find solutions at a local level. This continues to be its focus today.

The 2010s saw the next step for our prestigious AITI qualification.

​2012: Irish Tax Institute became part of the
Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) group

The internationally recognised CTA qualification was awarded to thousands of AITI members, giving them a strong international brand.

This decade also saw the progress of the OECD’s BEPS project and the EU’s Anti-Tax Avoidance plan. These were major changes in global tax policy. The Institute was at the fore of facilitating discussions and debates on the issues.

​2013: The first Global Tax Policy Conference, co-hosted by the Institute and our peers at Harvard, was held in Dublin

In late 2025, the fifth of these conferences took place where we continued to discuss the changes to global tax policy and debate where we are going next. 

We also established educational partnerships with the Department of Finance and Revenue to support their colleagues in providing the best support and initiatives for Ireland’s taxpayers.

In 2020, we had to react quickly to the new way of working with a nationwide stay-at-home policy in place. We provided certainty for our students and members by providing online solutions for our courses, exams and continuous professional development.

​2020: The first online exams were held by the Institute

We continue to offer our courses online giving great flexibility to students.

We also took our first dedicated steps to becoming a more sustainable organisation. One of the initiatives was moving one of our well-established publications online.

​2022: Irish Tax Review moves online