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BP SURVEY ACCOUNTANTS from month to month. My perception from talking with clients is that they feel that the rot is out and there’s a resignation to get on with it, which is good. There’s a realisation that what we have now is Tom Fitzpatrick, FMB the new norm for the next few years. Only businesses that are superefficient in the way they operate and control their overheads are going to survive and prosper. Unfortunately, some business models with high fixed costs won’t be able to make it work. I’m thinking here of retailers with onerous leases or companies with property-related borrowings within their own business. Most of the individuals in these situations were good business people. They were not speculating. They honestly believed in property as a long-term investment and they never suspected there was potential for the country to become almost bankrupt due to a banking sector that was acting injudiciously. Hopefully with the new personal insolvency regime, banks will park or write-off debt where the borrowers are good people who have a viable business. In my experience, the banks are trying to be helpful and will lend money where they feel they can get it back. What tax reforms would you suggest to generate more economic activity in Ireland Terence O’Rourke (KPMG): If we want to deliver on our aspirations to be the best ‘little’ country in the world to do business in, then we have to stop creeping personal tax rates – however you describe them. Fostering innovation, job creation and growth are just aspirations. The world is competitive and if it’s more attractive to start a business in Copenhagen than in Cork because of tax, then that’s what people will do. Once the rates goes over 50% you pass a psychological tipping point and that’s dangerous. Paul Leonard (Cooney Carey): I would like to see tax incentives to encourage investment in private companies, such as lowering CGT rates to 20%. Additionally, I would suggest that relief is granted at income tax rates for any losses incurred investing in a private company over the next two years. This would encourage private investors to fill the gap while the banks fully recover. Mike McKerr (Ernst & Young): In light of an increasingly competitive landscape, we need to consider our R&D tax credit regime. The regime could be enhanced by the removal of restrictions on the level of qualifying spend for R&D activities performed by Irish universities and subcontractors. Also, if we similarly fail to enhance our IP regime to a competitive footing, we are going to continue to lose the ownership of IP that is developed in Ireland and the profits that arise from its ownership. Anne Brady (Anne Brady McQuillans DFK): Reduce costs and regulations associated with employment. The high employers’ PRSI rate coupled with excessive employment regulations are a deterrent to taking on extra staff. Tadhg O’Sullivan (OSK): A new ‘Special Dividend Regime’ for close companies could be introduced. The payment of a dividend of up to half of a close company’s reserves to its ordinary shareholders on or before the end of the current tax year would attract a flat rate of income tax in the hands of the recipient shareholder of 25%, and would be exempt from USC and levies. This would encourage owner-directors to release profits to family members to alleviate personal debt burdens and increase spending capacity generally. Gerry McInerney (McInerney Saunders): I would commit more resources to seriously tackle the black economy and Chartered <strong>Accountants</strong> & Registered Auditors <strong>Accountants</strong> of Choice Cloud Computing Consultants Iveagh Court, Harcourt Road, Dublin 2 T: 353 1 4786600 F: 353 1 4750170 E: info@annebrady.ie W: www.annebrady.ie
BP SURVEY ACCOUNTANTS welfare fraud to drive more activity to tax-compliant, law-abiding businesses. Andy Quinn (Moore Stephens Nathans): The Special Assignee Relief Programme does not go far enough. We should have a far-reaching incentive programme giving holidays from USC to attract into Ireland the right talent, coupled with a review of the visa and work permit rules. John Glennon (Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon): We need better incentives for early-stage startups and mid-market businesses that have an appetite to make investment decisions. Mark Kennedy (Mazars): I would propose a temporary average combined personal tax rate (including income tax, USC and PRSI) of 25% for the entrepreneur for a period of two years, where an entrepreneur generates five new jobs. Paul McCann (Grant Thornton): I would cut the levies on ordinary people. People want to spend money and enjoy their lives, so a cut in levies would let them increase their disposable income, and thus enable them to spend more, which is a good thing for the economy. Jim Mulqueen (RSM Farrell Grant Sparks): Targeted supports to assist buyers in the residential market, and also to support investment in home improvements and energy retrofitting, merit consideration. These policies would drive employment in construction labour and ultimately drive tax revenues. The one thing that I would not do is levy any additional taxes on individuals, as nobody can bear any further deterioration in disposable income. Brendan Jennings (Deloitte): Entrepreneurs need to be better incentivised and rewarded for creating prosperous businesses. A tax package for this segment could include a 10% CGT rate on disposals if they reinvest 50% of the proceeds in a new business within a defined period, more flexible tax reliefs to encourage investment and a subsidy equivalent to 100% of social welfare benefit if they take on the long-term unemployed. Survey continued on page 74 ISIP Welcomes Insolvency Act The Personal Insolvency Act has been keeping the Irish Society of Insolvency Practitioners (ISIP) busy over the past year, according to the society’s chairman, Barry Cahir. He hopes that the new act will bring resolution to distressed borrowers who’ve been living in “debt limbo”. “We very much welcome the passing of the Personal Insolvency Act and the creation of the Insolvency Service, which should ensure a regulated and consistent approach in addressing the matter of personal insolvency,” he adds. The ISIP was set up in 2004 to improve knowledge and expertise among accountants and lawyers who specialise in the areas of turn-around and insolvency. The society started with 25 members and has grown over the past nine years to 360 members. ISIP members deal with the full range of insolvency procedures, and it has several sub-committees that cover education, law reform, company law, bankruptcy and representation. Details: www.isip.ie.
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Accountants Who's Who - Business Plus Online

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