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Title: FSI welcomes tax measures in Finance Bill - 02/04/2010

Financial Services Ireland (FSI), the IBEC group that represents the IFSC, today welcomed measures in the Finance Bill that support the financial services sector, in particular the extension of the remittance tax scheme to EU and EEA nationals. The remittance scheme is a tax incentive encouraging highly skilled foreign staff to locate in Ireland.

FSI Director Brendan Kelly said: “It is clear that the blanket abolition of the remittance basis was counterproductive. Highly paid staff were driven away, and the economy suffered as a result.

“Attracting senior staff to Ireland is essential to get firms to set up here and create jobs. The IFSC is entirely dependent on skilled labour that can locate anywhere in the world. Often one highly skilled manager can be the anchor that keeps a team of 40 people in Dublin. If the manager leaves, the jobs go too. These changes reduce the risk that increasingly penal tax rates will cause an exodus of talent and the resulting loss of jobs and revenue.

“The changes make Ireland a more attractive location for financial services firms and reduce the costs of relocating business here. Almost every developed country has some mechanism for compensating highly skilled staff from overseas and these measures help to bring Ireland into line with competitor economies.

“The measures announced for the funds industry and for Islamic finance are also hugely important. The package of changes represents one of the most significant boosts for the IFSC in the last decade. It comes at a crucial time and will help make Ireland the location of choice as firms rebuild in the aftermath of the global economic crisis."

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