Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last week, the Irish Tax Institute published its pre-budget submission in which it drew attention to the fact that Ireland is not advancing up the global rankings on entrepreneurship. Many Irish business leaders have expressed concern about the unfair tax treatment of entrepreneurs. Despite the stellar work of Enterprise Ireland under the leadership of Ms Julie Sinnamon in getting people to start up businesses, we are operating in an unfair playing field. Recently, the president of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Ireland, Mr. Brian Purcell, stated that the unfair tax treatment of Irish entrepreneurs means they could be better off staring businesses in the US or the UK. He argued that the potential for entrepreneurs to build and scale their businesses here is being seriously undermined by the unequal tax treatment they receive in comparison to their counterparts in the UK and elsewhere. Specifically, he called for urgent changes to the punitive high rate of 33% capital gains tax on entrepreneurs.In Ireland, we have an absurd situation whereby the greater the value an entrepreneur adds to a business the more he or she will owe the Government in tax when he or she eventually comes to sell it or pass it on to the next generation. In the UK there is a special entrepreneur relief scheme which reduces to 10% the capital gains tax on the first £10 million in profit gained from the disposal of a business. The UK experienced a brain drain, and five years ago the country improved taxation for entrepreneurs. The Irish Government needs to follow suit. It is intolerable that Irish entrepreneurs must pay more than three times as much tax as their UK counterparts.

Last week I referred to the report by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, in which Senator Mullins participated with me. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy was the Chairman and I was honoured to be the rapporteur for the report. All 12 recommendations received unanimous support from the all-party or cross-party committee.