"Achieving an inclusive and sustainable recovery means employers" PRSI must rise"
Responding to the IMF's concluding statement concerning its recent 26 April-7 May "Article IV" mission to Ireland, ICTU General-Secretary Patricia King, said that achieving an inclusive and sustainable recovery, as advocated by the IMF, means that employers" social security contributions, which are currently one of the lowest in Europe, will need to rise.
Ms King said: "ICTU welcomes the IMF's recognition that achieving an inclusive and sustainable recovery from Covid-19 in Ireland means investing more in education, training, health, social housing, and childcare so as to empower women in the labour market.
'the IMF acknowledges that this means that Ireland's tax base will "eventually" have to be broadened, but explicitly links this to the recently announced establishment of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare by the Government.
"As ICTU's 2020 No Going Back document has pointed out, the "elephant in the room" when it comes to tax in Ireland is the low level of employers" social security contributions (i.e. employers" PRSI) compared to peer European countries. Employers" social security payments in Ireland are just half the average level paid in other high-income European countries.
'the trade union movement will be advocating at the Commission on Taxation and Welfare that Ireland can only achieve an inclusive and sustainable recovery, as advocated by the IMF when employers in Ireland start contributing to the same extent as employers in other wealthy European countries.
'this approach is not only compatible with a competitive economy, as the Nordics and countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and Austria clearly demonstrate, it is in fact essential for competitiveness as it provides the resources to invest in social capital and thus raise productivity.
Ms King said that ICTU, alongside NERI, met with the IMF delegation during their recent (on-line) mission to Ireland and would carefully consider the full IMF "Article IV" report when it is published in a number of weeks.
ENDS
