A balancing act: Retail recovery continues

YET another yardstick indicates that our economic recovery continues apace and though that once-remote prospect must be celebrated it would be more than foolish if we did not temper those celebrations with a considerable degree of caution.

Retail Ireland Monitor has published second quarter figures that show general trends are positive and that retail recovery remains on track. The lobby group also argues that “punitive” tax rises have dramatically reduced spending power. This may be the case but one of the great challenges facing modern societies is balancing the need to raise revenue to secure essential public services but doing so without curtailing business growth.

The worst example of how that equation can go out of kilter is the tiny proportion of turnover, if any at all, paid by some mega corporations that operate in several countries.

Government must do all it can to encourage economic activity but it must also have the courage to say that a certain level of tax is needed to provide essential services.