Accountants call for early budget

AN early budget is needed to cope with the economic downturn, according to the country’s accountants.

The Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies-Ireland (CCAB-I), the umbrella group of Ireland’s largest accountancy bodies said it is not making this call lightly.

It said the pace of Ireland’s economic decline, though far from unique in an international context, means that the October 2008 budget is not appropriate to cope with current circumstances.

It said a full budget is required to deal with income and expenditure measures which “must be applied on principles which will drive our recovery through a focus on innovation and technology, sustain the tax yield and allow for prudent planning”.

The basis of the October 2008 Budget was an expected tax take of some €41 billion for 2009 but in his Ard Fheis speech, the Taoiseach said the maximum amount now expected from taxes is €37 billion, according to the CCAB-I.

“At this stage it is clear that current expenditure cuts being introduced will not match the decline in tax revenue. Indeed the €37 billion tax estimate may be optimistic,” it said.

The areas of public income and public expenditure must be rebalanced with immediate effect, if Ireland is not to wipe out in one year all the hard earned gains and progress of the past decade, the accounts group said.

“We need new measures to have effect from April 2009 for the remainder of the year. Otherwise business will continue to stagnate and the public sector will find it increasingly difficult to pay its bills.”