CGT reform ‘must follow business-friendly package’
Backing up his claim that SMEs were the lifeblood of the economy, Michael Noonan touched on a range of initiatives for the sector yesterday, including a re-launch of the disappointing Seed Capital scheme, to be renamed the Start-Up Relief for Entrepreneurs scheme; improvements to the remit of the Credit Review Office (which will soon see loans by Permanent TSB and potentially, Ulster Bank qualify for review); improving the Foreign Earnings Deduction; and the imminent launch of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, the State’s new so-called SME Bank.
Importantly, the three-year corporation tax relief for start-up firms is to be extended, and improvements have been made to the Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS), increasing the amount of finance that a company can raise to €5m per annum, subject to a lifetime cap of €15m.