Budget Response from CPA Ireland

 

  • Essential that Carbon tax does not disadvantage regional business

  • SME friendly measures welcomed

  • Changes to R&D credit will benefit small business
     

CPA Ireland, has broadly welcomed Budget 2020 which it has said is “the SME and Entrepreneurship Budget which Ireland has required for the last number of years.” However, the body whose members support over 100,000 Irish SMEs, has said it is essential that regional businesses are not disproportionately disadvantaged by the increase in Carbon Tax.

Commenting on the budget CPA Ireland President Gearóid O’Driscoll said: “With the nightmare of a no-deal Brexit now just days away it is welcomed that today’s budget is focused on helping businesses withstand the pressures this will bring.”
 

Carbon Tax

“The increase in Carbon Tax, which is intended to deliver much needed reduction in Ireland’s carbon footprint, could have a disproportionate impact on regional SMEs.” At the recent CPA Ireland Presidents Dinner O’Driscoll put forward CPA Ireland’s proposal for the development of Carbon Neutral Enterprise Hubs in our regional towns which would assist in decarbonising our economy.

“CPA Ireland strongly recommends that any income generated from the carbon tax should be ring-fenced and reinvested in environmentally friendly business initiatives to promote green construction, grow employment in rural Ireland and contribute to a reduction in commuting thereby providing a positive contribution to the reduction of carbon emissions in Ireland.”
 

Supporting Entrepreneurship & SMEs

Speaking on measures to support SMEs “The discrimination experienced by Ireland’s entrepreneurs is one of the tax system’s enduring failures. We welcome the increase of €150 in the earned income tax credit for the self-employed. However promises to eliminate this gap have consistently been broken which will be a cause of frustration for many.”

CPA Ireland welcome the increasing of the R&D tax credit and its new focussed support for the small and micro sector. The inclusion of pre-trading expenditure is a positive move and we hope this will be combined with an administrative system designed with the budgetary restrictions of small and micro companies in mind.

The commitment by the Minister to introduce supports for ‘vulnerable but viable businesses’ will offer relief to many employers affected by Brexit. At a time when small businesses will be struggling it is important that such supports are easy to understand and access and avoid burdensome bureaucracy. We are available to support the Departments of Finance and Business in developing this scheme.
 

Budget 2020 - Press Coverage

Accounting body CPA Ireland said it was “the SME and entrepreneurship budget which Ireland has required for the last number of years”. “With the nightmare of a no-deal Brexit now just days away it is welcome that the budget is focused on helping businesses withstand the pressures this will bring,” said president Gearóid O’Driscoll.
  Accountancy body, CPA Ireland, also welcomed the increase, but also highlighted the enduring discrepancy with employed workers, adding: “Promises to eliminate this gap have consistently been broken which will be a cause of frustration for many.”
  “The increase in Carbon Tax, which is intended to deliver much needed reduction in Ireland’s carbon footprint, could have a disproportionate impact on regional SMEs. CPA Ireland welcome the increasing of the R&D tax credit and its new focussed support for the small and micro sector. The inclusion of pre-trading expenditure is a positive move and we hope this will be combined with an administrative system designed with the budgetary restrictions of small and micro companies in mind.”
  The well-heralded increase in carbon tax could also hit business if it isn’t handled properly, accountancy body CPA Ireland warned.

“The increase in carbon tax, which is intended to deliver much needed reduction in Ireland’s carbon footprint, could have a  disproportionate impact on regional SMEs,”  Gearóid O’Driscoll, the CPA Ireland president, said.

“CPA Ireland strongly recommends that any income generated from the carbon tax should be ring-fenced and reinvested in  environmentally friendly business initiatives to promote green construction, grow employment in rural Ireland and contribute to a  reduction in commuting thereby providing a positive contribution to the reduction of carbon emissions in Ireland.”