Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar has said the lower 9% VAT rate for tourism products will remain in place next year.
Speaking at the official opening of the Good Food Ireland conference, Minister Varadkar said: “I can confirm that the 9% VAT rate will apply throughout 2012. This rate is significant because it principally benefits home-grown employers which are based in Ireland. Many operators moved quickly to pass the VAT cut on to their customers following its introduction. Even where the rate was not passed on, it still benefited the tourism industry by helping businesses to expand”.
New government: same practices. In case there was any doubt about the retention of the back of an envelope as the favoured calculating tool of politicians and the Department of Finance, the latest working paper by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) should allay the fears of those Luddites who shun change.
Fáilte Ireland chief executive Shaun Quinn has written to tens of thousands of tourism businesses across the state urging them to cut their prices with immediate effect from Friday, the day when the Vat rate on goods and services in the sector falls from 13.5% to 9%, The Sunday Business Post reports.
Anyone who didn’t realise the centrality of Croke Park to life in Ireland will assuredly be left in little doubt come next month. Not only will the queen of England be paying a visit to the hallowed ground but now the GAA has been asked to reserve the stadium on May 22 for a possible rally there by the visiting US president, Barack Obama.
Guesthouses and B&Bs will be rated in the same way as hotels from next month, when stars will be given as part of a new classification system, The Sunday Business Post reports.
