ACCOUNTANTS WELCOME TAX SIMPLIFYING MEASURES - The business community has given a generally positive response to the report by the Commission on Taxation. Accountants deal every day with tax and they are particularly keen to see those proposals which would simplify the tax system implemented.
Brian Keegan, of the consultative committee of accountancy bodies, says that at the moment there is four difference taxes at payroll level - regular PAYE, the income levy, the health contribution and PRSI. He points out that each of those taxes have their own slightly different sets of rules. What the commission is advocating is an harmonisation of the rules so that payroll operators will actually know with much better certainly how payroll can work. He says that with the income levy, for example, there is all sorts of pitfalls that employers can fall into unwittingly and which can result in incorrect deductions being made. 'This is not good for the tax system, the tax payer's confidence and certainly not good for Exchequer returns,' he states.
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INVESTMENT IN BROADBAND CONTINUING - Ireland's next wave of digital growth is the subject of a conference in Dublin today. One of the speakers will be Robert Dunn, who is chief executive of UPC Ireland. According to a National Competitiveness Council report recently, broadband services here are slow and expensive compared to international standards.
But Mr Dunn says that people can expect that to change within the next 12-24 months. He says the purpose of today's conference is to showcase some of the investments being made in the country. He points out that there are 1.2 million broadband users in Ireland today, of which 500,000 are using mobile broadband. He says the sector receives investment of about €730m. He says the broadband market is competitive and with the ongoing investments by the major players, consumers can expect speeds to go up and prices to come down.
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MORNING BRIEFS - Fruit and vegetable distributor Total Produce says its pre-tax profits fell by 2.3% to €24.3m for the six months to the end of June. Revenue rose by just 1.2% to €1.3 billion and that was helped by contributions from companies bought in the latter part 2008. The results are in line with expectations and the firm said it continues to target adjusted earnings per share in the range of 5.5 to 6.5 cent per share for the full year.
***Oil prices have risen in Asian trade today, lifted in part by improved investor sentiment about the global economy's recovery prospects. Comments from Saudi Arabia that the market was 'very stable and healthy' helped that rise. In New York's light sweet crude for October delivery is up to 20 cents to $68.22 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for October delivery also rose, by 37 cents to $66.90. The rises come ahead of tomorrow's OPEC meeting in Vienna.
*** A leading US economist has warned that recovery in the US economy may not be as strong as some commentators have suggested. Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz has cautioned that the US may yet be hit by a double dip recession. Recent economic data had led some commentators to suggest the US economy was turning around.
*** That warning has been echoed by the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD, which says it sees no early recovery from recession. Economists at the agency said today that there would be no early recovery from global recession and warned that any move to ease back quickly on government stimulus programmes could make the crisis worse.
*** Analysts have suggested that Kraft Foods may have to increase its bid for Cadburys by up to 40%. Cadbury's shares closed at 783 pence yesterday - up 38% and well ahead of the Kraft bid of 745 pence per share. Kraft has said that Cadbury's brands which include Dairy milk and the organic chocolate Green & Blacks would be "highly complementary" to its own portfolio but it might not be the only bidder for the world's second largest confectionary group. Analysts have suggested that chocolate maker Hershey and food brand Nestle may come together to launch a counter bid.
