Some economic pundits have been questioning whether it’s for real. After all, they’ve witnessed European Union (EU) stagnation, become tired of the EU showdown with Greece, and noted how governments, trying to heal their sovereign debt crises, put on an ambitiously brave face as they seek re-election.

So, when policymakers at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU herald economic revival and upgrade their forecasts for EU growth into 2016, commentators cast doubt.

But, the truth is, the EU is recovering – thanks to a large slice of good luck: a sharp drop in oil prices and a weakening Euro have combined to boost Eurozone growth and stave off entrenched stagnation.

In fact, one or two largely unsung EU economies are doing rather well, and are well placed to help stimulate the whole of the EU back into prosperity.

Take Poland (pictured above), for example. Over the past 25 years, the Polish economy, in real GDP terms, has doubled in size. On GDP per capita, Poland has moved from 32% to 60% of the Western European average. Poland was the only EU country to avoid recession during the global financial crisis and is today the eighth-largest EU economy. Its impressive history of growth for more than two decades has left the country, long a marginal European economy, poised to become a regional growth engine.

EU countries – where they stand

The IMF forecasts that the 19 European countries using the Euro currency will collectively expand by 1.5% in 2015 and 1.6% in 2016, up from a January 2015 forecast of 1.2% growth this year and 1.4% next. Last year the Eurozone grew by just 0.9%.

The European Commission has also upgraded its growth forecasts. The commission predicts the Eurozone economy will grow by 1.3% in 2015 and 1.9% in 2016.

Anticipating bailout agreement and conformity, the European Commission has even only marginally downgraded its projections for Greece. It predicts Greece will grow by 2.5% in 2015 and return to 3.6% growth in 2016.

European Commission officials acknowledge that the EU economy remains troubled, pointing to weak investment and stubbornly high unemployment across Europe. But they highlight that unemployment is projected to drop to 11.2% in the Eurozone this year (albeit barely lower than during its peak of the global financial crisis when it hit 12%).

Pierre Moscovici, the EU’s economic chief, says the sharp fall in oil prices and a weaker Euro are providing a welcomed benefit. He adds: 

 “Europe’s economic outlook is a little brighter today than when we presented our last forecast. But there is still much hard work ahead to deliver the jobs that remain elusive for millions of Europeans.”

The European Commission’s growth forecasts (see chart below) for the end of 2015 (compared with its previous forecast for late 2014) highlight Germany’s sustained growth; France (the Eurozone’s second largest economy after Germany) recovering; Spain recovering strongly; Italy remaining stagnant; the Eurozone overall resisting decline – and the EU bolstered by the UK, a non-Euro country, driving comparatively strong growth.

Poland – birth of a growth engine

Twenty-five years ago, events in Poland started changes that swept through Central and Eastern Europe, sparking massive economic and political transformations.

As the Polish economy emerged from decades of state control, industries were privatised and market-based competition was introduced, followed by painful reforms.

Within a few years, Polish GDP and living standards began to rise significantly, as the country started on a growth path that continues today.

Accession to the EU in 2004 confirmed the success of Poland’s effort and indicated a development path that was leading toward positioning Poland among Europe’s most advanced economies.

Over the past 25 years, the Polish economy has doubled in terms of real GDP, and enhanced GDP per capita by upward of 30% compared with the Western European average. Having avoided recession and pegged its place as the eighth-largest EU economy, Poland is poised to become a regional growth engine.

The McKinsey Institute forecasts that Poland can accelerate development to become the fastest-growing EU economy for the next decade. Under its growth model, Polish GDP would top 4% annually over the next decade and per capita GDP achieve 85% of the projected EU-15 average by 2025.

Such development would leave the country on a par not only with Cyprus and Portugal, but also similar to Spain and even Italy (the Eurozone’s third biggest economy). Poland would become a globally competitive advanced economy and a significant exporter of goods and services.

 “While this more ambitious scenario does not require Poland to abandon its existing growth model…, it does require a powerful collective effort by both the private and public sectors,” says McKinsey.

 “Since the country is already a developed economy, this accelerated growth will only be achieved through a major multi-sector transformation programme in conjunction with further improvements to infrastructure, simplification of regulations, and investment in education and innovation.

 “We believe the country has the means and resources to begin this new economic phase, transforming by 2025 from a regionally focused middle-income economy to an advanced European economy competing successfully on the global market.”

UHY has member firms throughout Europe. In Poland the network is represented by Biuro Audytorskie Sadren Sp. z o.o. and by ECA Group.

Biuro Audytorskie Sadren Sp. z o.o.
Contact: Wieslaw Lesniewski
Email: w.lesniewski@sadren.com.pl

ECA Group
Contact: Roman Seredyński
Email: roman.seredynski@ecagroup.pl

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Press contact

Dominique Maeremans, business development/marketing manager    
Tel: +44 20 7767 2621
E-mail: d.maeremans@uhy.com                 

Average levy on ‘outbound’ economy flight now US$2

Taxes on flying inhibit economic growth and competition

Airlines and air passengers around the world face an increasingly complex web of taxes and airport charges that increase the cost of flying and inhibit economic competitiveness, according to a new study by UHY, the international accounting and consultancy network.   Around the world, the average levy that is now imposed on short haul flights by the country of departure is now US$23, and US$53 for a long haul flight, which can be more than 10% of the total cost of flying.

UHY explains that these additional costs damage tourism, penalise SMEs trying to expand overseas, disadvantage remote regional cities, and chip away at labour mobility.  Although taxes on flying are often billed as ‘green taxes’ UHY points out that it is exceptionally rare for the revenue they raise to be ring-fenced for environmental protection projects.

UHY looked at taxes and compulsory government charges imposed per passenger on an economy class flight by 21 governments around the world.  It also analysed additional charges imposed on a per passenger basis by airport operators.

UHY says that the most expensive taxes are for long haul flights departing from a Russian airport, where unlike many other countries, airline tickets are subject to sales taxes.  The highest taxes of any G7 economy are in the USA, which imposes US$23 worth of taxes on a short haul flight.

Within the EU, the UK still has the highest flight taxes: an adult with an economy short haul ticket flying from a UK airport will pay US$20 in tax.   For a first or business class ticket, the amount of tax paid would be even higher at US$41.    

Many smaller European countries do not impose any taxes on individual passengers, including Ireland, Slovakia, and Belgium.  In many cases there has been intense lobbying by local airports and business groups to keep taxes on flying to a minimum to prevent travellers using airports in neighbouring countries with lower taxes.    

Comments Ladislav Hornan, Chairman of UHY: “Airlines provide a crucial piece of infrastructure.  They facilitate a great deal of economic activity that is essential for countries that want to benefit from globalisation.  The higher the taxes on flying, the more they hurt airlines, business users and consumers.  That is why Russia is planning a temporary reduction to taxes raised on domestic flights in order to ease pressure on an aviation industry that is currently suffering severely.”

“Countries and cities that are expensive to fly to lose out on tourism.  High air taxes can also be harmful to businesses, as in many commercial relationships there is simply no substitute for face to face contact.”

“For smaller businesses, the cost of flying to see customers may be a serious consideration in deciding whether not to expand into new markets, especially overseas – it can lock them out of globalisation.  Taxes can add another 10 or 15% to the cost of flying, so they can pose a meaningful additional burden on budgets.”

UHY notes that lower taxes on flying in some countries, including China and France, seek to strike a balance between requiring aviation to make a contribution to government spending that it may benefit from and imposing high levies on passengers.

UHY adds that in the BRIC economies, flight taxes are actually higher than the global average, at an average US$21 for a short haul flight.  Long distances between cities and relatively weak road infrastructure in these countries make the alternatives to flying significantly less attractive, especially for business trips, so flights are a tempting target for taxes. 

Airport and airline charges lack transparency

UHY adds that on top of taxes and compulsory payments imposed by government bodies, additional airport fees levied on individual passengers for a short haul flight amount to a typical US$23 around the world.

Although airport fees are usually passed on to the consumer, airlines often complain that the charges amount to an abuse of an airport’s monopoly status if it has a particularly favoured geographic location near a major city. 

Airlines also add their own charges such as ‘fuel charges’ which many consumer groups argue should simply be included in the cost of the flight.

Adds Ladislav Hornan: “For consumers, taxes and fees are confusing; they mean the final ticket price is usually a shock.  They also add to the headache of working out how much extra a flight booked using air miles will actually cost, as well as what can be reclaimed if a customer has to cancel their ticket.”

“An EU study five years ago recommended that all air fares should state simply the basic air fare, airport charges and government taxes which are levied per passenger, and the total price.  The study said that the costs of operating the flight, such as ticketing or fuel, need to be included in the basic air fare.”

“Around the world, the issue of complex charges is an area where far greater progress needs to be made to ensure better transparency and competition.  Businesses and consumers would greatly benefit if regulators and tax authorities kept aviation taxes low and ensured that charges were more transparent.”

*Russia levies sales taxes on airline tickets – calculations based on actual ticket price, Moscow to Novosibirsk / Moscow to New York

**based on international flight taken by a non-national – Egyptian nationals pay lower rate on departing international flight.

***Short haul calculation based on $165 total costs – flight Detroit to Miami.

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Notes for Editors

Press contacts:

Dominique Maeremans                                                                     

Tel: +44 20 7767 2621, or email: d.maeremans@uhy.com

We welcome ECA Group, an additional member firm in Poland, to the global accountancy network UHY, extending our coverage within the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region. 

ECA Group, quoted on Warsaw’s Stock Exchange’s Alternative Market, is based in Krakow with other offices in Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw and Zabrze. With a team of 81, including 7 partners and 74 staff, ECA Group provides audit, tax consulting, accounting and stock exchange consulting (IPO), to a portfolio of local and international clients primarily in the retail & consumer, industrial manufacturing, engineering & construction, energy, utilities & mining sectors.

Managing partner of ECA Group, Roman Seredynski says: “We have joined the UHY network for a number of reasons.  We hope our local expertise and the UHY network’s collaboration will help us to attract international clients wishing to invest in Poland. Our main priority is to expand our own international footprint, especially in the EU. The global presence of the network combined with the expertise and knowledge of UHY’s 7,660 people around the world not only strengthens our own capabilities, locally and internationally, but also these of our current and potential clients and their operations.”

Ladislav Hornan, chairman of UHY commented: “We are delighted ECA Group has joined the UHY network extending our coverage and capabilities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Poland was the only EU country to avoid recession during the global financial crisis and is today the eighth-largest EU economy. Its impressive history of growth for more than two decades has left the country, poised to become a regional growth engine. ECA Group’s admittance to the UHY network will further strengthen UHY’s regional market expertise, bringing additional presence and capabilities to UHY’s Polish market representation.”

The firm will soon be adopting the UHY branding and languages spoken by the team are Polish, English and German.

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Liaison office for ECA Group                                    
Contact: Managing partner, Roman Seredynski
Tel: +48 12 417 78 00                                                                                              
Email: roman.seredynski@ecagroup.pl       
Website: www.ecagroup.pl

UHY press contact: Dominique Maeremans, marketing & business development manager, UHY International, Quadrant House, 4 Thomas More Square, London E1W 1YW, UK
Tel: +44 20 7767 2621
Email: d.maeremans@uhy.com

Low tax centres Dubai and Singapore hoping to lure high value industries from ‘Old Europe’

Western European countries are inhibiting their economies with tax burdens at least 40% heavier than both the global average and the average for neighbouring countries in Central and Eastern Europe, according to research by UHY, the international accounting and consultancy network.

In the ‘Old European’ economies of Western Europe the total amount of tax taken by governments is an average of 38.9% of GDP, 40% higher than the 27.8% global average and higher still than the 25.9% average tax burden across Eastern Europe and the Balkans. 

In the BRIC economies the proportion of the economy claimed by the Government in tax is even lower, at an average of 21.7%, while the US Government’s ‘take’ from the economy is below the global average at 25.4% 

UHY examined 53 economies around the world, calculating what percentage of that country’s GDP is taken by the Government in tax.

Oil-rich Nigeria has one of lowest tax burdens of any major economy at 1.6% of GDP, even lower than in the UAE, where government levies on foreign oil producers, banks and some hotel and leisure businesses account for 2.7% of the Emirates’ combined GDP. 

The highest tax burden in the study was in Denmark, where the total amount of tax revenue taken equates to nearly half of the country’s GDP at 48.6%.

UHY says that Western Europe’s higher taxes on businesses, individuals, investors and consumer spending could all inhibit growth.  Higher taxes reduce incentives for investment and wealth creation, and prompt larger businesses to maximise returns for their investors by seeking out lower tax bases for their operations. 

In particular, Western Europe’s economies could be vulnerable to international rivals that are increasingly able to offer a combination of stable legal systems and highly skilled workforces. 

For example, the UAE and Singapore with tax burdens of 2.7% and 15% respectively are enjoying significant success in attracting corporate headquarters and professional and financial services companies, all creators of high skill, highly paid jobs. 

The Dubai International Financial Services has grown in the last 10 years to 1,100 companies, 70% of which originate from outside the Middle East, while Singapore is now home to over 200 banks and has growing expertise in other high value sectors including pharmaceuticals and medical technology.

Eastern European and Balkan countries are focussing on developing their industrial and manufacturing industries, offering lower taxes and lower costs than traditional Western European centres.  For example, Romania enjoyed 2.9% GDP growth last year, largely driven by expansion in its industrial and communications sectors.  It is becoming a growing centre for the auto manufacturing industry, with Daimler, Ford and Draexlmaier all choosing Romania over Germany for new plants in recent years.

Comments Ladislav Hornan, Chairman of UHY: “Unless they address their tax burdens, many Western European countries could find themselves pinched between lower cost, lower tax Eastern European countries that are able to offer equally strong manufacturing skills bases, and global cities like Singapore, Dubai and Qatar, that are consciously targeting the industries that create the most wealth.”

UHY point out that within Western Europe, Ireland, has the lowest tax burden at 28.3% of GDP.  Its lower taxes are a key part of its strategy of attracting high value industries such as financial services and technology companies. Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre is estimated to contribute over 7% of GDP with 35,000 employees, while Ireland is a major European base for 9 of the top 10 global software companies.

Comments Alan Farrelly of UHY Farrelly Dawe White Limited in Ireland: “While still relatively high by global standards, Ireland’s tax burden is significantly lower than in most of Western Europe.  This is strategy that appears to be paying off: the Irish economy grew by 4.8% in 2014, the fastest rate in the EU, and Ireland is attracting significant levels of foreign investment – it is the number one destination for US foreign direct investment.”

UHY adds that the BRIC economies impose bigger tax burdens than other, smaller emerging economies, which could see emerging markets investors looking beyond the BRICS for growth.  Tax amounts to an average of 21.7% of the BRIC economies, compared to 15.1% across the lower income emerging economies** in the study.

Adds Ladislav Hornan: “Analysts have been keen to coin all sorts of rival acronyms to the BRICs, and one reason may be that the tax burden in the BRICs, especially Brazil, is relatively high.” 

“For China, as economic growth starts to slow and the country gradually loses its cost advantage, especially compared with other Asian countries, the conundrum of whether and how to lower the tax burden will start to loom larger.”

**Nigeria, UAE, Puerto Rico, Egypt, Guatemala, Bangladesh, Peru, Singapore, Malaysia, Argentina, Romania, Croatia, Uruguay, Jamaica, Barbados

*Lower income emerging economies include: Nigeria, UAE, Puerto Rico, Egypt, Guatemala, Bangladesh, Peru, Singapore, Malaysia, Argentina, Romania, Croatia, Uruguay, Jamaica, Barbados

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Notes for Editors

Press contacts:

Dominique Maeremans                                                                     

Tel: +44 20 7767 2621, or email: d.maeremans@uhy.com

New member firm in the Philippines joins the UHY network

Global accountancy network UHY extends its coverage within Southeast Asia by appointing M.L. Aguirre & Co, CPAs.

M.L. Aguirre & Co, CPAs, with a team of 50 including 2 partners and 25 CPAs, is based in Makati City, one of the 16 cities that make up Metro Manila. The firm provides audit, advisory, tax, insolvency and recovery services to a portfolio of local and international clients primarily export oriented, foreign funded, non-governmental organisations and SMEs.

Managing partner and founder, Michael Aguirre says: “We have joined the UHY network for a number of reasons.  The global presence of the network combined with the expertise and knowledge of UHY’s colleagues around the world will support us in achieving our own firm’s mission and vision long-term.  We look forward to collaborating with and assisting mutual clients by providing reliable and timely advice.”

Ladislav Hornan, chairman of UHY commented: “We are delighted M.L. Aguirre & Co, CPAs has joined the UHY network extending our coverage and capabilities in Southeast Asia. The launching of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community later this year could boost further growth in the Philippines, as major international firms look to rationalise their operations following the lowering of trade and employment barriers in the region. M.L. Aguirre & Co, CPAs’ admittance to the UHY network will bring strong regional market expertise, enhancing further our capabilities in this region.”

The firm will soon be adopting the UHY branding and languages spoken by the team are English, Filipino and some Chinese.

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UHY press contact:Dominique Maeremans, marketing & business development manager

UHY International, Quadrant House, 4 Thomas More Square, London E1W 1YW, UK

Tel: +44 20 7767 2621

Email: d.maeremans@uhy.com

Liaison office for M. L. Aguirre & Co, CPAs 

Contact: Michael L. Aguirre, Managing Partner

Tel: +632 892-2568

Email: ask@mlaguirre.org       

Website: www.mlaguirre.org

New member firms in Costa Rica and Honduras join the UHY network.

Global accountancy network UHY extends its coverage within the Central American region by appointing ASCOFI in Costa Rica and Castro Díaz y Asociados in Honduras.

ASCOFI is based in San José, Costa Rica. Incorporated in 1984, the firm currently has 3 partners and 12 staff, providing primarily audit, book keeping, tax and management consultancy to a portfolio of local and international clients in the public, private and financial sectors.

Established in 1998, Castro Díaz y Asociados is based in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. A team of 4 partners and eight staff provide audit, book keeping, tax, corporate finance, management consultancy and legal services to both national and international clients to a portfolio of clients operating in the manufacturing, commerce, services, international trade and construction sectors.

Ladislav Hornan, chairman of UHY commented: “We are delighted ASCOFI in Costa Rica and Castro Díaz y Asociados in Honduras have joined the UHY network extending our coverage and capabilities in Latin America. Both firms have strong established links with our member firm, UHY Pérez & Co, in Guatemala who played an instrumental role in bringing the two firms to the network. We strongly believe that the firms’ regional market knowledge and expertise should present a very good fit for our network.”

Both firms will be operating under the UHY branding.

_______________

UHY press contact: Dominique Maeremans, marketing & business development manager, UHY International, Quadrant House, 4 Thomas More Square, London E1W 1YW, UK

Tel: +44 20 7767 2621

Email: d.maeremans@uhy.com

Liaison office for ASCOFI

Contact: René Humberto Pérez Ordóñez +(506) 2281-3701

Email: rperez@uhy-cr.com

Website: www.uhy-cr.com

Liaison office for Castro Díaz y Asociados

Contact: Omar Josué Pérez Rosales +(504) 2552 9981

Email: operez@uhy-hn.com

Website: www.uhy-hn.com

UHY strengthens presence in Eastern Europe as firm in Belarus joins the UHY network

Global accountancy network UHY extends its coverage within Eastern Europe by appointing BusinessCollegia LLC (Belarus).

Audit firm, BusinessCollegia LLC, was established in 2013 as a spin off from the Collegia group of companies which also includes Collegia Law Firm (established in 2000); Valuers’ Collegia LLC (established in 2007). With a team of 8 staff including 3 partners, based in the capital city of Minsk, the firm provides audit, bookkeeping, tax and corporate finance services to a portfolio of local and international clients involved in a variety of sectors, such as industry, trade, IT and services.

Managing partner, Denis Kastsian, of BusinessCollegia LLC says: “We have joined the UHY network for a number of reasons.  The global presence of the network combined with the expertise and knowledge of UHY’s colleagues around the world not only strengthens our own capabilities, locally and internationally, but also these of our clients and their operations. ”

Ladislav Hornan, chairman of UHY commented: “We are delighted, BusinessCollegia LLC has joined the UHY network extending our coverage and capabilities in Eastern Europe. Belarus, a member of the CIS countries and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), operational since 1 January 2015, forecasted to become the world’s sixth biggest economy with the aggregate GDP of almost $3 trillion with a free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce, promising great prospects for business and investors in the region. BusinessCollegia LLC’s admittance to the UHY network will bring strong regional market expertise, enhancing further our capabilities in this region. We strongly believe the firm is a very good fit for our network.”

The firm will soon be adopting the UHY branding and will be known as UHY BusinessCollegia LLC. Languages spoken in the firm are: Belarusian, Russian, English and French.

_______________

UHY press contact: Dominique Maeremans, marketing & business development manager, UHY International, Quadrant House, 4 Thomas More Square, London E1W 1YW, UK

Tel: +44 20 7767 2621

Email: d.maeremans@uhy.com

Liaison office for BusinessCollegia LLC

Contact: Managing partner, Denis Kastsian 

Tel:+375 17287 81 88

Email: kastsian@collegia.by

Website: www.collegia.by

German business owners may pay almost half gains in tax and in France a third

By contrast BRICs economies pay just 16.7%

The tax take on business disposals in G7 economies risks seriously undermining entrepreneurship, with entrepreneurs in the G7 countries levying an average 28.6% in tax on the successful sale of a $50m business*, compared to a global average of 19.8%, according to a new study by UHY, the international accountancy network. 

UHY collected information on the tax regimes of 25 countries across its international network to compare how much profit an investor in a typical small or medium size business would be allowed to keep when they sell their stake in the business, based on an initial investment of US$1m and the sale of the stake for either US$10m or US$50m. 

In contrast to the G7, entrepreneurs selling a similar business in one of the BRIC economies would pay an average of just 16.7% in tax on their gain. 

UHY says that this disparity in the rewards for entrepreneurship between the BRIC and G7 economies puts the G7 at risk of discouraging entrepreneurialism and losing out as a destination for setting up a business.

UHY explains that low taxes on capital gains, especially those made by entrepreneurs, help compensate for the financial risk involved in expanding a business.  They create a stronger incentive to keep growing the business, creating new jobs, with a view to attracting a substantial buyer, rather than keeping it as a smaller lifestyle business that employs fewer people and is easier to manage.

The amount of tax paid by a successful entrepreneur in Germany and France is particularly high.  An entrepreneur selling a $50m company realising a $49m gain would pay 46.6% or $23.3m in tax in Germany and 36% or $17.6m in France.  Additionally, the partial relief for an entrepreneur in Germany selling a business of up to a profit of EUR5 million applies only to the over 55s, putting younger entrepreneurs at a key disadvantage.

The tax regime for entrepreneurs is more benign in the USA than in continental Europe.  An American entrepreneur’s tax bill from selling the same $50m business would be around 40% smaller than in Germany at $14.1m or 28% of the total sale price.

In the UK, the despite a headline tax rate of 28% on capital gains an entrepreneur selling a business of $10m** would pay just, 9% in tax, rising sharply to 21.8% after tax reliefs and exemptions, for a sale of $50m. While the headline rate is now substantially lower than the 40% rate CGT reached in the 1990s, UHY says that the wide discrepancy in the tax treatment of the sale of a more substantial business acts as a brake on entrepreneurs’ ambition to maximise the potential of their businesses.

UHY adds that in China – where the Ministry of Commerce estimates that entrepreneurial ventures are responsible for 75% of new jobs each year and 68% of exports – entrepreneurs are encouraged with a tax on capital gains below the global average.  Some smaller mid-size economies, including New Zealand, Jamaica, Nigeria and Croatia seek to encourage entrepreneurialism by exempting gains from the sale of a business in most common scenarios entirely.

Ladislav Hornan, Chairman of UHY, comments: “Historically G7 economies have been able to depend on a steady stream of business creation because their sheer size offers great opportunities.  However emerging economies are starting to rival them as a place to start a business; their business environments are becoming more benign, they offer growing pools of affluent consumers, increasingly skilled workforces – and as this study shows a much more favourable tax environment too.”

“G7 economies need to re-think how much they tax capital gains or risk losing ground to their rivals.  In particular, tax rules that favour older entrepreneurs seem antiquated at a time when technology companies create some of the world’s fastest growing businesses, and with them well-paid, highly skilled jobs.”

“Germany hopes to attract high tech start ups to low-cost Berlin, yet an aspiring German Mark Zuckerberg could face a much larger tax bill than an older entrepreneur in an industry offering far lower pay.”

UHY points out even in Ireland, generally considered to be a low tax economy, entrepreneurs would pay 32.3% on a sale of a $50m business, higher than Ireland’s maximum corporation tax rate of 25%.

Comments Alan Farrelly, of UHY Farrelly Dawe White Limited, UHY member firm in Ireland: “Irish entrepreneurs have been thin on the ground in the last few years, but with the economy improving, it could be time for the Government to consider encouraging domestic business creation by allowing entrepreneurs to keep more of their profits.”

The study assumed that the business did not qualify for any targeted investment reliefs (e.g. to encourage investment in clean technology), and that the entrepreneur is the sole owner and investor in the business, single, childless and a national of the country, with an annual income of US$200,000 and no immediate plans to reinvest his or her profits.

*with a profit of $49m based on an initial investment of US$1m.

**with a profit of $9m based on an initial investment of US$1m. 

*Assuming a profit of $49m.

**Assuming a profit of $9m

Notes for Editors

Press contacts:

Dominique Maeremans                                                                     

Tel: +44 20 7767 2621, or email: d.maeremans@uhy.com

Nick Mattison or Catherine Sirikanda

Mattison Public Relations

Tel: +44 20 7645 3636, +44 7957 340 795 or catherine.sirikanda@mattison.co.uk

New member firm in Ecuador joins the network

Global accountancy network UHY extends its coverage within the South American region by appointing Assurance & Services Auditores y Consultores CIA., LTDA.

Established in 2004 and based in Quito, the capital of the Republic of Ecuador, the firm is led by Freddy Cevallos Bustamante, senior partner, and Edgar Ortega Haro, audit partner, supported by a team of 40 professionals.  Principal services provided to both national and multinational clients include external audit, tax advice and consulting, transfer pricing, outsourced accounting and audit reviews to ensure compliance with norms on anti-money laundering and combatting financing of terrorism. Team members speak Spanish and English.

International contact partner, Freddy Cevallos Bustamante comments: “We are convinced that our association with UHY will support the growth of our organisation, both locally and internationally. The success of our work is based on our team’s high level of professionalism and our commitment to our clients. The needs of our clients are our priority, and we go the extra mile to support their growth and success”.

Ladislav Hornan, chairman of UHY commented: “We are delighted Assurance & Services Auditores y Consultores CIA., LTDA., have joined the UHY network extending our coverage and capabilities in Latin America. With Ecuador’s rich oil resources and its ambition to become one of the key players in the region, combined with the firm’s strong regional market and sector expertise, we strongly believe that this presents a very good fit for our network.”

The firm will be operating under the UHY branding and will be known as UHY Assurance Services Auditors & Cia. Ltda.

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UHY press contact: Dominique Maeremans, marketing & business development manager, UHY International, Quadrant House, 4 Thomas More Square, London E1W 1YW, UK.  Tel: +44 20 7767 2621, or email: d.maeremans@uhy.com

Liaison office for Assurance & Services Auditores y Consultores CIA., LTDA. Contact: International contact partner, Freddy Cevallos Bustamante. Tel: +593 993983531, email: f.cevallos@uhyassurance.ec, website: www.uhyassurance.ec