Business leader tells govt to cut levy plans

The editor of a business magazine has called on Ireland to realise that its contribution to the climate change problem is small and that carbon levy plans must be scrapped.


Writing in the Independent, Nick Mulachy, editor of Business Plus magazine said that the problem with the Irish targets set is that they have been compared to the UK and Germany which began industrialisation much earlier.

He highlighted the fact that many consumers and businesses were already paying VAT on transport and heating, and that extra taxes would only hit the worst off.

“If the government wants to display its green credentials, a better idea would be to take on board the proposal from the Construction Industry Federation to grant aid for the retrofitting of houses to make then more energy efficient,” he said.

He added that the plans to introduce the levy would hit Irish businesses hardest at a time when the economy was ailing.

Analysts have suggested that if the Irish economy enters into a recession this year, it may not recover until 2010.

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