Burke advocating 9% VAT for hospitality sector
Mullingar Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke says he will be pushing strongly at cabinet for a reduction in VAT for hospitality businesses.
Following confirmation that Budget 2025 will be announced on October 1, Minister Burke said it will be a firmly “pro-small business budget”.
The Mullingar TD reiterated previous comments made to the media after meeting representatives from the CSNA (Convenient Stores and Newsagents Association) this week, including Sara Orme, who was representing Delvin Daybreak at the meeting.
He said: “Since my appointment 13 weeks ago, there hasn’t been a week where I have not formally or informally sat down with a business owner, whether this be a local café manager, a publican, a hairdresser, a tech giant – as minister for enterprise, it’s my job to engage with all members of the business community.
“And it’s clear to me that local hospitality businesses are in need of support. They have weathered increased costs now for a number of years, lower turnover during Covid, followed by inflation since 2022 and regulatory change including increases in minimum wage and employee benefits such as increased entitlements to sick pay. These changes benefit wider society but there is no doubt that they hit our smallest businesses the hardest.
“As minister, I have committed to stress test any further planned changes before they are implemented, to ensure that they do not damage the viability of SMEs.
“I have also introduced the ‘SME test’ – all government policies, legislation and guidelines must first go through a test to examine how they affect small businesses, before they are agreed by government.
“A number of government memos containing legislation have already been sent back to their parent departments to assess negative consequences on business.
“We all know small businesses provide the backbone of our local economy and our communities. They provide 70% of all employment in this state. Government must recognise that, and give support when it is needed.
“My budget submission is almost complete after a number of weeks of work, and it will be shortly submitted to the Dept of Finance and will form the basis of negotiations later in the summer.
“While ultimately, it will be the decision of the minister for finance and the wider cabinet, I will be advocating for a number of changes, both in tax and expenditure, to ensure that Budget 2025 is a firmly pro-small business budget.”