BUSINESS LOBBY GROUP IBEC has said the country needs to encourage more entrepreneurs, abolish the pension levy and overhaul income tax in order to fix Ireland’s economy.
In a wide-ranging plan published today, IBEC set out five major issues which it says are the priorities for business as Ireland slowly emerges from the recession.
The group was critical of the Fine Gael-Labour government, and said that its policies are out of step with the economic needs of the country.
“Across a range of important areas the country is not working as it should and the Government needs to act,” said Mary Rose Burke of IBEC. “We have important choices to make on how to build on the economic progress already made, tackle unemployment and drive growth across the economy. We need to get these right”.
As well as tackling bad government, IBEC said Ireland needs to reduce the tax burden, invest in the future, extend Ireland’s global reach, and promote enterprise and entrepreneurship, as part of its 5-point plan.
As it has done in the past, the group called for ‘radical’ reform of public sector pensions.
IBEC was particularly critical of the income tax system, which it said is “not working for growth”.
“The tax burden is too high and is a drag on employment, investment and consumer spending,” said Burke. “It makes the move from welfare into work less attractive and makes it more difficult to attraact mobile talent to the country”.
She called on the Government to reduce the marginal income tax rate below 50 per cent, increase the income entry point to the higher marginal tax rate, and drop the ‘unfair’ pensions levy’.
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