THE Revenue Commissioners will accept payment in euro or pounds after the introduction of the single currency in 1999, the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, said yesterday.
Speaking at the Forfas EMU business awareness conference Mr Quinn told delegates that he expected Irish companies to be able to invoice and pay worldwide in euros.
All businesses will be able to pay tax, customs duty and excise duty in the currency of their choice.
Taxpayers will also be able to elect to submit returns and declarations in euro for corporation tax, employer's PAYE and PRSI, self-assessed income tax, VAT, capital gains tax, capital acquisitions tax, stamp duty, customs duties and excise duties.
After the introduction of euro notes and coins all Revenue information will be expressed in euro. However, payments in pounds would be accepted until the notes and coins are phased out.
A change-over plan, which would outline how all the other departments would implement the change-over, is due soon.
Mr Quinn also said he expected that the euro would be used by Middle Eastern oil countries as a quotation currency in preference to the dollar.
"I think the strength of the euro world-wide will be much stronger than the rather euro-centric discussions that we have had about it," he said.
Forfa's also introduced a five-step guide for Irish firms preparing for monetary union. The guide is part of the Government's EMU Business Awareness Campaign.
The five steps are:
. The assignation of responsibility and the gathering of information
. Performing a business impact analysis
. The identification of the functional implications for business
. The preparation of a functional workplan
. The design, testing and implementation of the changes required
The guide also includes a planning frame-work, a business impact analysis tool and six "functional checklists, as previously reported in The Irish Times.
Mr Redmond O'Donoghue, chief executive of Waterford Crystal, stressed that Ireland had many competitive advantages, although our manufacturing costs compared unfavourably with the Far East and countries, such as the Czech Republic.
"It is critical to remember that investment doesn't always follow low costs, it also follows markets and Ireland is the ideal gateway to a huge market of 350 million consumers."
According to Mr O'Donoghue the greatest worry in the whole debate is the possibility of an unstable euro. "An unstable euro would be much worse than no euro at all," he warned.
On operational issues, Mr O'Donoghue warned that there would be short term difficulties. There is a possibility that sale items in the shops in January, 1999, would have to show as many as eight prices.
Nevertheless, he urged the delegates to, "rise to the challenge", which "will throw up new opportunities
Mr Oliver McAdam, managing director of Medentech which manufactures water sterilisation tablets, stressed that the entry level of the pound against the euro would be of great importance to the competitive position of Irish exporters.
"The entry level exchange rate for the pound against the euro could have the biggest single impact on business," Mr McAdam said.
"If the entry level exchange rate for the" pound were to be fixed at its current rate in the ECU, Irish exporters would continue to be at a serious price disadvantage in many of their markets.
"It is vitally important that the entry level exchange rate be fixed at a much more attractive rate."
