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Budget 2018 Brings Good News For The Hospitality Industry

The Restaurants Association of Ireland has welcomed news that the food industry has suffered no increase in tax as of Budget 2018.

Retaining its 9% VAT is good news for the food industry, with Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive of the RAI commenting: “In our Pre-Budget Submission, we set out objectives that we wanted met. Today, in Budget 2018 our key issues have been addressed.

The Retention of VAT at 9% into 2018 and beyond is crucial, not only to the sustainability of restaurants and businesses in the tourism sector, but also to job creation and the continued growth of our economy.”

Budget 2018

The rising cost of doing business meant retention of VAT at 9% was more important than ever. Dublin and tourism hotspots have reported a good year of business, however, rural and border counties are continuing to struggle, so retaining the 9% VAT rate was crucial to them.

Since the introduction of the lower VAT rate in 2011, 37,800 new jobs have been created, a positive that cannot be overlooked.

In other tourism news, there was no increase in excise duty in Budget 2018. Ireland pays the highest excise duty on wine in Europe. Excise has increased by 62% since 2012, with the tax take on a standard bottle of wine now over 50%.

Adrian Cummins said: “Despite calling for a reduction of 15% in excise duty in our Pre-Budget Submission, we are happy to see no increase in excise duty for a third year in a row.

It should be noted that excise increases not only impact restaurants, hotels and pubs. These increases introduced during the financial crisis as an emergency measure have created significant cash-flow issues for distributors and importers, as many have to pay excise as an up-front cost.”

He added: “The budget that was delivered today will bring a positive response from the restaurant and tourism industry.”

For more information on Budget 2018, visit finance.gov.ie.

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