‘Black economy poses threat to 250k retail jobs’

The Government has issued a fresh warning to consumers over the buying of illegal goods — saying the black economy poses a serious threat to the 250,000 jobs in the Irish retail sector.

The Exchequer lost out on approximately €250 million in excise duty and VAT from the sale of illegal cigarettes alone last year — with around 178 million cigarettes also being seized during 2011. Additionally, sales of pirated computer software and DVDs cost the economy around €63.5m.

Minister for Small Business John Perry yesterday warned of the effects of black economy trade; also noting that Ireland ranks as the sixth biggest culprit of illegal medicine sales — with the market worth an estimated €86m a year — in the EU.