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VAT rate for hospitality sector

One of the country’s most important indigenous sectors

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott
The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.
Fri Jul 26 2024 - 00:06

Sir, – I am always surprised when media outlets, including The Irish Times, report on the Tax Strategy Group and their annual deliberations (“Department of Finance torpedoes return of 9% VAT rate for hospitality”, Business, July 23rd).

The Tax Strategy Group is a gathering of civil servants who are responsible for implementing rather than proposing any tax policy.

They can neither torpedo nor launch anything.

Furthermore, the Tax Strategy Group has always been adept at estimating the cost of an initiative and choosing to the corresponding benefit. To that end, to state that any proposed return of the 9 per cent VAT for the food services sector “would cost €545 million” should reference the clear economic upside of supporting a vulnerable but viable industry that is particularly important to regional Ireland.

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The truth is that finance mandarins have always been against the 9 per cent VAT rate for tourism and hospitality even when 9 per cent was in place (which has been the case for 10 of the last 13 years). Let us hope that, as in previous times, Ministers are enlightened enough to challenge their conservative officials who seem intent on stifling the enterprising nature of one of the country’s most important indigenous sectors. – Yours, etc,

EOGHAN O’MARA WALSH,

CEO,

Irish Tourism Industry Confederation,

Dublin 18.

Sir, – You report that the Department of Finance’s Tax Strategy Group (TSG) suggests that a return to 9 per cent VAT for hospitality would be too costly and “unjustified”.

The same documents also note that the hospitality sector saw a business failure rate three times worse than any other sector in the first quarter of 2024.

Unjustified? Go figure. – Yours, etc,

BRIAN GOFF,

Clontarf,

Dublin 3.