Small business representative organisation Isme has called for public-sector wage restraint and for the replacement of PAYE allowances with higher personal tax credits.
Unveiling its pre-budget submission today, Isme said that such a PAYE allowance change would offset the "current discrimination" that prevents company directors or self-employed people from claiming this tax credit.
Isme has also called for employers' PRSI be cut from 10.75 per cent to 10 per cent. It also describes public spending levels as "unsustainable".
Isme chairman J.J. Killian said public sector pay remained a significant strain on Exchequer and needed to be reined in, with verifiable pay procedures for future pay increases.
He added it was essential that this year's budget addresses cost competitiveness and that the headline rate of inflation is brought down to below the average European rate of 2.1 per cent. It is more than double that now.
Isme is also seeking the formation of a National Transport Management Agency to oversee infrastructure projects.
