The Irish Exporters Association says it is essential that the Government ensures that the right balance is struck between the necessary measures to reduce public sector expenditure and stimulate the economy.
In its pre-Budget submission, the IE says that the international conditions for Irish exporters has changed dramatically over the past six months with many firms failing to survive the very hard recession.
It adds that it is fully aware of the exceptional collapse in revenues and acknowledges that some extra tax measures will have to be introduced.
'However, any tax measures should not reduce our capacity to compete internationally, and should be capable of introduction with minimum administration difficulty from a business point of view,' commented IEA chief executive John Whelan.
The IE wants the Finance Minister to outline a 'credible multi-year fiscal strategy' so that businesses and people know what tax burden they will have to shoulder over the next five years.
In order to stimulate the economy, the exporters want to see energy regulated costs cut by 20% and wages reduced by 15% across both the public and private sectors.
It urges the Government not to increase corporation tax, employers' PRSI or excise duty on diesel for transport and also says that the new banking code should be updated in order to increase lending to the small business sector by 50%.
It calls for a 'reconfigured' National Development Plan and recommends that public sector expenditure should be reduced back to the levels of the late 1990s.
It also suggests that the loss of trade finance could be halted through a government guarantee scheme to support export credit insurance.
The association also says that a clearly defined increase in the income levy for this year and next only would find widespread acceptance.
