No surprises in this finding from the report of the Business Regulation Forum published in April 2007.

As well as taking submissions (ICAI made submissions to the Forum which are acknowledged and quoted in the report), the Forum conducted case studies of Irish companies. Apparently all of the case study companies referred to the burden of compliance with the requirements of the Revenue Commissioners. Most companies raised specific issues, ranging from the importance of synchronising reporting dates for different taxes to better planning for the introduction of budgetary changes, given that such changes may increase the administrative burden for businesses.

Among the conclusions, businesses have reported that regulation has now become a greater obstacle to their productivity performance and competitiveness than either infrastructure or staffing issues.

The report is somewhat light on specific proposals to reduce the burden of regulation, opting instead for setting priority areas to be addressed (tax is the first listed priority), and a framework for activity involving targets and international comparisons.