Commercial tax rates pose threat

The Irish Business and Employers Confederation is the largest lobbying group that is set out to represent the rights of irish businesses at a national and international level. This group is focused on supporting all different types of businesses, from large to small and across every aspect of the economy. 

Recently, they published a press release that was aimed to protect local businesses incomes by calling for a tax reform on commercial rates that would centralize collection in a similar way to that of current, well utilized tax systems. 

Ibec Senior Public Sector and Regulatory Executive Aidan Sweeney, said: “Local authorities have a significant impact on business conditions and cost competitiveness. This year businesses will pay €1.55 billion in commercial rates, up 14% since 2010. Approximately €1 out of every €3 spent by a local authority comes directly from local businesses. Local authorities are relying on business to balance their books.”

Local businesses were not consulted during the creation, voting or soon to be implementation of this new tax standard. This is most frustrating, given that they will be the …

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The issue with the case against ‘Reckless lending’

In operations I have two main roles, firstly is the obvious operational aspect of any company which has to do with logistics of loan suppliers and our distribution to clients as well as looking at the general business planning to ensure we are always at the best of our abilities. The other role is regulatory, I act as a compliance officer, while that is not a legal position, it is one in which the practical aspects of law surrounding financial services are to be found, how it works in real life.

On that basis I was surprised to see that there were several articles talking about the use of tort law to prove negligence in lending, and with that, a particular reference to the Consumer Protection Code (CPC) which has since been updated. While I admire the initiative being taken by New Beginning I have some doubts which I will express here.

One issue we have had with regulation is that it actually …

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