CEOs see construction as priority in Budget

The majority of Irish chief executive officers (CEOs) have made increased spending on the infrastructure the top priority for new Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, when delivering his Budget speech tomorrow.

A pre-Budget survey by accountants Deloitte reveals that increased expenditure on building transport to telecommunications networks is ahead of calls for more spending on health and a reduction on personal taxation for the lower paid.

Some 34% of CEOs would prefer the minister to increase expenditure on infrastructure, whereas only 15% said increasing expenditure on health was top of their Budget wish-list.

Two out of five CEOs believe Mr Cowen will introduce a Budget that will mark a significant change from the direction taken by his predecessor, Charlie McCreevy.

27% believe the minister should concentrate on the two tax areas of reducing the PRSI burden on business and widening the standard rate band, while 8% believe the minister should give priority to increasing the personal tax credit and 87% believe that most urban renewal type reliefs have been good value for money.

Pádraig Cronin, tax partner at Deloitte said 82% believe the minister should continue to use tax incentives to target structural defects.