Give tourism tax break to building sector, says Parlon

The Construction Industry Federation has called on the Government to take the reduced 9% Vat rate off the hospitality sector — and give it to its own sector.

CIF director general Tom Parlon said the hospitality industry was thriving and no longer needed the help.

“The restaurant and hospitality sector should be applauded for how they have managed their Vat rate reduction. It has an obvious beneficial impact on the turnover of the sector and on creating jobs.

“However, given how much it is costing the exchequer, with it estimated at approximately €350m per year, this reduction should now be taken off the menu by the Government.”

A CIF spokesman said: “Between Q1 and Q2 2013 the CSO recorded a jump of 9,600 in the number of people employed across all sectors. The construction sector was responsible for 6,400 of that rise in employment which highlighted the capacity of the industry to create a lot of jobs in a short period.”

The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland said thousands of jobs would be lost if the higher rate returned. Chairman Peter O’Brien said: “The minister has publicly stated that this budget will be pro-growth and pro-jobs. Increasing indirect taxes like excise and Vat is in direct contravention of this objective and will further damage employment in the drinks and hospitality sectors.” The group said the industry supported more than 62,000 people directly and thousands more indirectly.

Irish-owned pizza chain Apache Pizza also warned of the consequences of upping the rate. It said that since May 2011, it had created 300 jobs and opened 32 stores. This week, it opened two stores with 10 more set to open by Mar 2014.

“The company plans to create another 200 jobs in the next 18 months, but this is based on keeping costs, including the Vat rate, down,” it said.

Apache Pizza owner Robert Pendleton said rising Vat from 9% to 13.5% “is effectively a 50% tax hike”.

Robert Pendleton, Magaging Director, #Apachepizza delivers pizza to #ministernoonan in a bid to keep VAT at 9% pic.twitter.com/V81UK4mhQZ

— Plunkett PR (@PRPlunkett) October 7, 2013