Firms creaking under rates burden - Cullen

BUSINESSES ARE bearing a disproportionate share of the rates burden because of a lack of a residential property tax, Minister for Tourism Martin Cullen has said.

Mr Cullen was speaking at the launch of an economic report on Dublin’s Temple Bar which found 30 per cent of businesses in the district expect to have to lay people off in the next year.

He said the tourism, hospitality and culture sectors were economic drivers, contributing to employment and revenues. But the costs of doing business needed to be reduced, and it was “not sustainable” for businesses to continue to bear the burden of rates alone.

Mr Cullen said he was not pre-empting the next budget because, due to its complexity, it was unlikely to be possible to introduce a property tax in such a short time.

However, the burden of rates needed to be shared. “Businesses have carried a disproportionate burden of the rates base, because we don’t have a residential tax base. In my view, if we widen the tax base. There has to be shared costs.”