Chartered Accountants Ireland has responded to the apparent commitment of the new Government in Westminster towards business regeneration and renewal for Northern Ireland. This follows on from the meeting on 8 June last between the Prime Minister and Northern Ireland's First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

Chartered Accountants Ireland has consistently called on the Government for mechanisms to reduce the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland which it believes is key to economic growth in Northern Ireland. Chartered Accountants Ireland re-iterated this call in its Pre-Budget Submission.

Chair of the Northern Ireland Taxation Committee Mr Eamonn Donaghy said:

• “We are advocating that progressive tax elements in the Coalition's Programme for Government need to be implemented as a matter of urgency. We need to boost economic prosperity and rapid job growth by attracting high value added Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). One of the key ways of doing this is to offer a low 12.5% rate of corporation tax. There remains a pressing need for commercially aligned tax measures to assist with economic development and growth of the private sector in Northern Ireland.”