Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 8 February 2023

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

Report of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Mairead FarrellMairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Mr. Brady for that. I just want to touch on those points, and then I will get the views of Chambers Ireland on the matter. I am being told our scheme is far too cumbersome and just does not end up delivering value for money. The point on having a separate tax credit for SMEs is interesting. I have been thinking about whether there is scope for having an independent agency to advise SMEs on this, including on whether their proposals meet the criteria. Perhaps a fee could be paid for assisting with the application. An agency of the kind in question was established in Britain although I think it might have been shut down by the Tories. It was called the Office of Tax Simplification. It made recommendations on how the tax code could be simplified. Could such a proposal emerge in an Irish context? Is the other proposal more suitable?