Business
SFA seeks more support for the self-employed
The Small Firms Association has launched a campaign to have the Government end discrimination against self-employed and Proprietary Directors in the tax and social welfare systems in 2015.
The campaign has been launched by the organisation’s chairman, AJ Noonan, who says there is a real need to support people in embarking on their entrepreneurial journey, “as without the risk-taker / the owner-manager, no jobs can be created”.
“Therefore it is important that they are at least treated equally if not indeed more preferentially than employees,” said Mr Noonan.
Specifically, the SFA is advocating the introduction of its three point plan by Government to introduce a voluntary PRSI rate for the self-employed, to equalise how self-employed/ proprietary directors and employees are treated and to introduce a CGT rate for entrepreneurs selling their business.
“The PRSI rate should enable them to claim unemployment benefit should their business fail and would alleviate some of the risk associated with starting up a business. The scheme should run on an opt-in basis for already established businesses.
“Specifically the additional 3% USC on earnings above €100,000 for self-employed must be abolished. This was promised by the end of 2014, but the Government failed to deliver on this commitment in Budget 2015. In addition, the PAYE tax credit should be available to all who pay tax on a PAYE basis. Currently a self-employed person on €15,000 is six times worse off than the equivalent employee, because of this discrimination.
“For example, in the UK, you only pay 10% CGT if you sell or close all or part of a business, on condition you’ve held the share for at least a year and you are a director, partner or employee in the business. The existence of such a scheme in our closest competitor economy means that business HQs here will be moved to the UK prior to sale with the consequent loss of jobs here. Introducing a comparable rate here would give a tremendous boost to business sale and acquisitions activity.
“By focusing on the entrepreneurial sector, we can deliver real national and balanced regional growth. However this will only be possible if the Government implements our three-point plan,” he said.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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