IBEC welcomes 'prudent' package

The Irish Business and Employers Confederation said yesterday that the Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, has delivered a "prudent framework".

Mr Turlough O'Sullivan, the director general of IBEC, said that "the challenge facing government now is to achieve value for money and better outcomes in public service".

He said the budgeted increase of 9.1 per cent in current spending is "somewhat high given the conflicting demands on the one hand for larger increases and the overriding requirement for stability".

IBEC welcomed the tax measures in the budget on the basis that "people at lower income levels will benefit most and secondly the band broadening should help to underpin wage moderation."

ISME welcomes move to take minimum earners from tax net

The business lobby group ISME has cautiously welcomed the Budget and endorsed the decision by the Government to remove those on the minimum wage from the tax net.

ISME also welcomed the increase in tax credits and the standard rate tax band, which it said would benefit those people on lower pay.

But it added it was disappointed that the threshold for PRSI had increased, a move which sent out the wrong message to middle-income earners.

The Government had also not extended the PAYE allowance to owner-managers and the self-employed, it noted.

This compounded the injustice to small and medium-sized companies, ISME said.

Technology firms see positive measure on competitiveness

ICT Ireland, a lobby group representing some of the biggest technology firms in the State, has welcomed the budget's renewed commitment to the 12.5 per cent rate of corporation tax.

It also welcomed the decision to provide €6.3 bil- lion next year for capital spending projects as a "positive step for improving Ireland's competitive position".

Mr Peter McManamon, chairman of ICT Ireland's taxation group and a partner at the firm Sears Partners, said ICT Ireland strongly supported the Government's commitment to retaining its corporate tax regime and resisting any pressure for EU harmonisation of tax.