“Unfair” tax treatment of Irish entrepreneurs means that they could be better off starting a business in the UK or the US rather than Ireland, according to the president of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA Ireland).

Brian Purcell, who is newly elected to his role, called for significant amendments to the tax system to improve the incentives for entrepreneurs to take the risks necessary to set-up and grow businesses.

He claimed many entrepreneurs were already voting with their feet.

“Ireland cannot hold itself up as a great country to do business as long as a situation where Irish entrepreneurs are effectively forced to sell their businesses before they have realised their true potential is allowed to persist,” Mr Purcell said.

“Where are the next Ryanairs and Glen Dimplexes going to come from if Irish entrepreneurs are penalised by punitive and discriminatory taxes?”

Mr Purcell, a partner in Purcell McQuillan Tax Partners, made his comments during his inaugural address to CPA members.

“In Ireland, you have the absurd situation where the greater the value an entrepreneur adds to a business the more they will owe the government in tax when they eventually come to sell it or pass it on to the next generation,” he said.

“This prompts them to sell the business sooner rather than later and well before it has an opportunity to realise its full potential in terms of international scale or employment generation.”