Some of the Apple windfall coming Irish taxpayer’s way should be used to support Irish retailers who have been hit by spiralling costs and forced to confront higher levels of crime and antisocial behaviour, an umbrella group representing the sector has said.
An immediate injection of financial support could make the difference between survival and liquidation for businesses all over the State, according to Retail Excellence Ireland (REI).
The industry group called on the Government to intervene urgently with a package of supports for the sector and warned that thousands of retailers have been “decimated by a combination of several rising costs and ever-increasing crime and antisocial behaviour”.
REI becomes the latest in a queue of interest groups and representative bodies looking for a slice of the €13 billion that Apple must pay the Government in back taxes following a ruling last week by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ).
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The appeal coincides with it joining a new umbrella organisation called SME Alliance, which has published a shopping list of actions it believes are necessary to support the Irish retail sector.
Among those are a change in how the minimum wage is calculated in order “to reflect the fact that nearly half of the workforce is employed by the public service or multinationals with far higher salaries”.
Retail Excellence Ireland also wants the standard 23 per cent VAT rate to be restored to “its historical 21 per cent rate [and] is also seeking recognition for SMEs and employer representation at the Labour Employer Economic Forum and on the Low Pay Commission”.
The group called for application of the 8.8 per cent rate of PRSI to the entirety of the national minimum wage, currently €495.30 per week.”
“After receiving a huge windfall from Apple, the Government now has the means to provide the kind of support that could be the difference between survival and liquidation for many businesses around the country,” said Jean McCabe of the retail lobby group.
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“The retail industry has been decimated by several rising costs including the minimum wage, statutory sick pay, insurance premiums and general inflation, and are dealing with ever-increasing instances of crime and antisocial behaviour,” Ms McCabe continued.
“Every week we are seeing shops go out of business and people losing their jobs.”
Ms McCabe went on to say that Ireland is “not in a recessionary environment, so the onus is on the Government to give the industry the support it needs to navigate this particularly difficult time”.
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