Budget 2023: A small business owner says she hopes cost-of-living adjustments would help her keep employees
Small company owner: Budget 2023 has a lot of good things. She has preferred to see more initiatives to encourage investment in start-up businesses.
Sohini De (49) immigrated to Ireland from India 22 years ago and co-founded her business, Imperial, with her husband Aurobinda in 2018. Imperial offers an app that is marketed as a “fitness coach in your pocket.”
The company employs 10 support technicians in India and nine people in Ireland.
Retaining workers has been a challenge for the startup, so Ms. De is pleased that some of the cost-of-living measures announced today might encourage her employees to stay in Dublin.
The vacant-property tax will undoubtedly help with certain housing concerns because housing has an effect on attracting and retaining talent (in Dublin), according to her.
“We definitely applaud the reduction in childcare fees and think it’s a very positive move. We also need more women to enter the labor market once more.
From a business standpoint, they could have taken action to strengthen Irish enterprise competitiveness in comparison to the UK and to support more investment in small businesses.
Ms. De stated that she wished the government had provided more assistance to Ireland’s “indigenous enterprises.”
“Covid-19 has wreaked havoc in our sector, starting up start-ups and SMEs, but we also need to focus on retaining and attracting investment – whether it’s Irish investment or FDI (foreign direct investment) – because we need investment in this sector. It’s a huge problem right now, and with high inflation, the economy’s prospects aren’t good over the next 15 to 20 months, she said.
According to Ms. De, programs like the Employment Investment Incentive (EII) must be “more relevant” for the industry, and start-ups “require more help.”
II is a tax break that encourages people to provide trading companies equity-based financing. She noted that because Irish investors are “extremely sensitive” to EII, start-ups have a harder time luring into the capital. It is quite burdensome for startups like us, she continued.
