Irish Employers Want Tax Cuts To Reduce Wage Costs

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

11 September 2001

The industry group for SMEs in Ireland has warned that any tax cuts in the forthcoming budget should be directed towards reducing the costs of employing workers, while at the same time protecting those on low incomes, in line with the commitments made by the government in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.

Small Firms Association director, Pat Delaney commented earlier this week that the December budget will be the most significant for a decade, and argued for a balanced and considered budget. 'The budget must exercise discipline over public spending and there must be no inflationary impact of further tax cuts,' he said.

Mr Delaney called attention to the 2% health levy and the PRSI as being areas of considerable importance for employers and employees, and stressed the need for simplification in these areas. 'Simplicity must be rediscovered as a virtue,' he observed. 'The current diversity of rates, thresholds and ceilings creates considerable complexities and imposes significant administrative costs for businesses and individuals.'

Meanwhile, in an interview with the Irish Examiner on the occasion of his 50th birthday, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, downplayed the seriousness of the economic downturn in Ireland, stating that the economy was in a slowdown as opposed to a recession. He also offered reassurance to groups such as the SFA, promising that there would be no pre-election sweetener tax cuts, and that the efforts of the government would be concentrated on fulfilling the promises made in the PPF.

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