Ireland’s tax regime needs to support indigenous businesses

Ireland scores high in PwC’s European Private Business Heatmap

The report describes Ireland as an 'advancing jurisdiction' for private businesses to flourish.

Ireland scores in the top half of the pack of PwC's first EPB Heatmap which ranks the attractiveness of 34 EMEA countries across a range of categories.

Despite receiving a high score for corporate tax, positioning Ireland as an attractive hub for corporations, Ireland ranked 19th for its income tax rate suggesting more has to be done to support the establishment and growth of indigenous Irish businesses and their entrepreneurial founders.

Colm O'Callaghan, PwC Ireland Private Business Tax Partner said: ‘PwC's EMEA Private Business Heatmap suggests that, based on Ireland's overall ranking, there is scope for improvement in Ireland's strategy to help support growing businesses.

‘We want a regime that results in Ireland being an entrepreneur's first and only choice to set up a business, and which should work to ensure that as many businesses as possible start, grow, expand, and ultimately stay on these shores. Therefore, it is really important that the Government specifically focuses on supporting the private business sector in the upcoming budget, and future budgets, and looks to other EMEA territories for some best-in-class support for this vital part of our economy.’

Specific factors including macroeconomics, environmental, social, and government metrics, private business landscape, tax and regulatory environment, and technology and infrastructure earned Ireland its place at number 14 out of the 34 countries ranked.

Within the technology infrastructure category, Ireland ranked fifth for mobile connectivity and 14th for broadband access.

Ireland also placed high on the global gender pay gap index at number five, which puts it among the lowest of any of the 34 jurisdictions.

However, the country scored in the bottom half for carbon emissions at number 21.  According to PwC's 2022 Irish CEO Survey, there remains much work to be done in relation to climate change, with over six out of 10 Irish business leaders admitting that they had not yet made a carbon-neutral or net zero commitment.