Search Results for 'Tax reform'

Retail Ireland, the IBEC group that represents the retail sector, this week said that new CSO retail sales figures highlighted a pretty dismal start to the year for Irish retailers and suggested many consumers had made purchases in November and December to avoid the January VAT hike.

After much speculation, Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, confirmed that the standard rate of Irish VAT is to increase from 21 per cent to 23 per cent with effect from midnight 31 December 2011. This VAT rate change is earlier than set out by the Government under the National Recovery Plan where it stated that the standard rate of VAT would only increase to 23 per cent in 2014.

This year, the budget has received a very mixed reaction from the general public. It was lauded as a budget to be feared and there was a lot of kite-flying of very scary issues which never materialised or that materialised in a toned down manner and this has left some, feeling somewhat relieved.

IBEC, the group that represents Irish business, has stated that the Government has relied too heavily on increasing tax in Budget 2012, rather than reducing current expenditure. The group welcomed specific measures aimed at supporting R&D and financial services, attracting mobile talent and restoring normal activity to the property market, but said the scale of these positive measures was small when compared to the very negative effect of the €90 million increase in employer PRSI charges and the major reduction in the redundancy rebate, announced yesterday. The total cost of Budget 2012 to business will be in the region of €400 million.

The Midlands Branch of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) gave a mixed welcome to the Minister for Finance’s Budget announcement. It welcomed the special allocation to be made for the national tourism Gathering initiative in 2013 and acknowledged the significant benefit the reduced VAT rate of 9 per cent has had for the hospitality sector; however, it criticised the guillotining of capital allowance schemes.

One of the most anticipated Budgets of recent times was presented by Minister Noonan this week. Although, many of the measures announced had been expected, there were a few surprises.

Budget 2012 does nothing to tackle the State’s job crisis but everything to ensure we have the highest rate of VAT in the Eurozone according to Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has welcomed the ongoing increase in visitor numbers so far this year, and predicted annual growth in visitor numbers for the first time in four years.

Most companies only ever look at the VAT treatment of supplies. Often companies forget to look at the potential to recover more VAT on costs and almost never consider whether they have recovered too much VAT on costs.

Westmeath hoteliers have welcomed the new 9 per cent reduced VAT rate for tourism related goods and services including hotel accommodation, which came into force as of Friday July 1. Joe O’Brien, chairman of the Midlands branch of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), stated that the hotel sector is fully behind the initiative and that the IHF is calling on all its members to pass on the benefit of the reduction in full to customers.