Bill to offer firms tax breaks to import skilled staff
The Government is to offer tax breaks to companies so they can offer lower income tax as an incentive for skilled workers from abroad to fill certain jobs here.
The measure, which is contained in the newly published Finance Bill, was requested by the IDA to ensure that investors can get the skilled employees they need to create jobs in Ireland.
The bill, which gives legal effect to the measures announced in Budget 2012, also sets out the criteria for home buyers who bought during the boom to qualify for the additional tax relief.
However, the Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said the key aim of the bill is to support jobs and offering this new tax break may help to generate employment here.
Mr Noonan said: "Seemingly the IDA and Enterprise Ireland have identified companies who have pin-pointed research and development opportunities that are being lost because we don't have an incentive along these lines.
"The kind of people involved for this area of research and development are being attracted to other jurisdictions who compete with us for inward investment."
