The Government has been urged to abolish all stamp duties on Laser, credit and ATM cards, in the forthcoming Budget.

In its pre-budget submission the Irish Bankers Federation has identified the abolition of these duties as an "overriding priority" for the December Budget. The IBF is being supported in its campaign by the Consumer Association of Ireland (CAI).

In a statement the IBF said these duties undermined consumer choice and ran contrary to initiatives undertaken by the Irish banks and the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority to ensure consumers greater freedom to switch accounts amongst financial institutions. New codes on account-switching are due to come into force in February 2005.

A spokesman for the Department of Finance refused to comment on any likely measures to be adopted in the Budget yesterday.

In 2002 the then Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, imposed a €10 annual fee on Laser cards, and a €20 combined tax on Laser and ATM cards. In his budget he also increased the duty on ATM cards from €6.25 to €10 per year and raised the fee on credit cards from €19 to €25 annually.

The IBF and consumer groups reacted angrily to the new charges at the time and said the Government had increased the cost of banking by 131 per cent.

The IBF now claims this duty restricts competition and runs contrary to the account-switching initiatives. As it stands, any consumer who switches from, say, an AIB to a Bank of Ireland Laser card, or who might upgrade their card with their existing financial institution, must pay the full stamp duty twice within the same year. IBF president Mr Pat Farrell, said this would deter consumers from moving accounts.

CAI chief executive, Mr Dermott Jewell, said the stamp duties only added to the burden of affordability and penalised consumers who had embraced the move to a cashless and secure environment. "The latest slap in the face is that this environment now contains an anti-competitive and costly hurdle for those wishing to change bank. It is both ridiculous and unacceptable," he said.

These organisations claim that market research among a sample of 1,000 consumers shows that 51 per cent of respondents regard the stamp duty as an extremely or fairly important barrier to switching, with only 15 per cent considering it not to be a barrier.

The IBF also stresses that these duties are unique by European standards and are discouraging new financial services providers from entering the Irish market.

It argues these taxes hinder the development of world-class payment systems. "These stamp duties amount to a penal tax on improved technology and product innovation in the development of efficient payment systems. Such systems... are the cornerstone of the Government's own National Payments Strategy," according to the IBF's pre-Budget submission.