Retailers are calling for a three per cent reduction in VAT to offset the effects of Brexit, sterling devaluation and the huge move to online shopping.
Ennis-based retail lobby group Retail Excellence, which represents over ten thousand shops across the country, holds its pre-budget briefing today in Dublin.
The group says Brexit is already damaging Irish shopkeepers, citing successive trading reports by Grant Thornton, which show that 15 out of 20 retail sectors are in decline.
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Spokesperson Lorraine Higgins says the current 23 per cent VAT rate was introduced as an emergency measure – and that it’s time for it to be slashed:
