Tax Breaks for Start Ups Should Be Extended – Hayes

Fine Gael MEP for Dublin, Brian Hayes has today (Friday) called for the tax break for start-up companies to be extended. Under current legislation this exemption which could save a new start-up company thousands of Euros over a three year period is set to be abolished at the end of the year. Speaking at a StartUp Ireland ICT event in Dublin today Mr Hayes said: “As the country recovers we need to ensure the conditions are favourable for new start-up companies to be established. SMEs and particularly ICT companies are the backbone of our economy accounting for 99% of businesses in Ireland and almost 70% of people employed. “The SME sector is regarded as an important contributor to our economic recovery. The tax break for new start-up companies has afforded valuable relief to new SMEs that set up in the past 3 years which has been a contributor to many success stories. These companies are now expanding and recruiting more employees. “Through the plans for a digital single market, the EU is supporting the development of the ICT sector and Dublin is perfectly positioned to become a European and world leader in the ICT sector. By extending the current tax break for a further two years we will be supporting new ICT starts ups. “The EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) which is at an advanced stage of negotiations will encourage significant US investment in the ICT sector in Ireland. “A successful outcome on TTIP will allow for the removal of tariffs and bureaucratic obstacles that currently make it difficult to trade and do business with the US. Ireland stands to benefit more than most from successful TTIP talks, in terms of jobs and economic growth. Since 2010, more than 14% of all US investment to the EU has gone to Ireland, and a great deal of this will be focused on the ICT sector”.