The CCAB-I has made its annual pre-Budget submission to the Minister for Finance. CCAB-I Chairman, and President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, Mr Martin Wilson commented:

• “Tax Policy has an enormous influence on the economic life of our country; tax reliefs and incentives drive business decisions and behaviour. We have presented to the Minister some comprehensive suggestions as to how tax policy can improve the Environment for all citizens, further promote inward investment, and make the tax system fairer for all taxpayers”.

Among the specific recommendations are:

• Change the tax rules to promote the use of biofuels and encourage investment in renewable energy projects.
• Promote Ireland as a centre for high technology innovation by improving the tax regime for Research and Development activities
• Simplify the tax compliance rules for individuals and companies

The needs of the weaker members of our society are not overlooked in the submission, which also makes suggestions for improving the tax relief for charitable donations, the treatment of Dyslexia, and simplifying the tax rules for students in third level education.

The submission in full can be found at Section 2.01.