Budget is win for self-employed

An increase in income tax credits for self-employed people has been welcomed with a pinch of salt by a Cork entrepreneur.

Paul Prendergast, CEO and Co-Founder of travel insurance company Blink, said that, although he didn’t think much of the overall budget, he was pleased to see a positive outcome for the self-employed.

“While there’s not a whole lot that can be taken from today, we do welcome, however small, the show of support for Ireland’s self-employed by way of the increase in the earned income tax credit,” said Mr Prendergast.

He continued: “This group make up over 11 per cent of earners in Ireland and are responsible for a substantial amount of employment generated in cities and towns throughout the country, but for some reason, there is a big difference between how they and their PAYE counterparts are treated for taxation purposes.”

Mr Prendergast explained that the impact of this means that people who want to step up and take a chance on their business and their passion are sometimes dissuaded from doing so.

He said: “We need to support those who are brave enough to try go it alone. We need tax parity at the very least, but we also need more supports and incentives.

“Two stand outs for me were the R&D credit being raised to 30 per cent, and the fact that €10m of the Department of Business’ €1bn is earmarked for disruptive technologies. This way of thinking is exactly where we need to be.”