Seen & Heard: Call for Uber boycott over tax row

Ahead of today's opening of a new call centre in Limerick by online transport company Uber, the Sunday Times reports calls by Fianna Fáil for government ministers to boycott today's opening ceremony at the new facility, due to employ 300 in the city. The firm has already hired 100 staff there. It follows Uber's confirmation that it does not pay VAT on driver commissions charged here. The paper reports the firm as stating: "Uber is not subject to Irish VAT on commissions paid by partner-drivers . . . since these services are rendered out of the Netherlands. " According to a Fianna Fáil spokesman, "millions are being lost to the Irish exchequer".

High-interest accounts plan

The

Labour

Party is planning to establish post office savings accounts with high interest rates for first-time buyers struggling to save for a deposit. The Sunday Independent reports a draft version of the plan is in the party’s election manifesto.

O’Brien firm buys Equinome

A horse-nutrition business linked to Denis O’Brien has bought Equinome, which has developed genetic tests for thoroughbreds. The

Sunday Times

reports Plusvital has bought the start-up co-founded by Dr Emmeline Hill of UCD and trainer

Jim Bolger

in 2009.

Asda slashes prices The boss of British supermarket chain Asda has

pumped a further £500 million into slashing prices at the grocer in the latest salvo in what the Sunday Telegraph describes as the industry's savage price war. The paper quotes Asda chief executive Andy Clarke as saying there is "currently no growth in the food market, and the rise of discounters means that we must take radical action to win back our customers".

The forecast comes as the paper also reports a US hedge fund renowned for short-selling British firms is betting against J Sainsbury following the retailer's failed bid for the owner of Argos and Hombebase.

Stripe revenues top $450m

Stripe, the online payments business founded by the Collison brothers, has revenues of more than $450 million, according to

Forbes

magazine, as reported in the

Sunday Times

. While Stripe has never commented on its financials, the Forbes article said industry sources estimated Stripe was handling about $20 billion a year in online payments.

Firm to fund tech start-ups

The son of former IDA chief Barry O’Leary has raised €110 million to launch a new venture capital firm based in Berlin to fund European tech start-ups, according to the

Sunday Business Post

and the

Sunday Independent

. Ciaran O’Leary has created Blue Yard, which will invest €500,000-€5 million.