Over 50% of Irish Taxpayers Would Like to Be Their Own Boss

31% of Irish taxpayers would absolutely love to consider setting up their own business, while a further 27% said that while they would like to do this, they “probably never will”. 

Such are the findings from the latest Taxpayer Sentiment Survey Series from Taxback.com, which asked over 2,000 taxpayers from the company’s customer database, based through the country, their ambitions or otherwise when it comes to entrepreneurialism.

With the self-assessed ROS pay and file deadline of November 17^th on the horizon, the tax experts also asked people their views on the current tax system for the self-employed and found that the vast majority (85%) would be in support of changes to the current annual pay and file system in favour of the creation of a pay-as-you-go system (similar to PAYE employees).

Speaking of the findings, Barry Cahill of Taxback.com said:

“Irish people are a nation of entrepreneurs and self-starters, which is why the self-employed and their endeavours are the backbones of the Irish economy throughout the country. So, it’s unsurprising that the overall majority (58%) of survey participants said they would be attracted to the proposition of being their own boss.

“However, just 31% say there is some likelihood in making this dream a reality, while 27% concede that while they would consider it, they probably won’t make it happen. Many of us have a potentially great business idea living inside of us but how many will make the leap to bring it to life?”

That so many would be into the idea of self-employment is an interesting finding – perhaps due to the much wider range of opportunities and instances now for self-employment, aided hugely by advanced eCommerce and particularly, social media platforms.

Almost 20% more were doubtful about it, and a further 23% felt that being self-employed was “definitely not for them”. This in itself raises questions – is there a type of person that chooses to become self-employed? Are there certain qualities and characteristics?

One certainty is that it takes enormous amounts of hard work to become successfully self-employed, but the rewards certainly speak for themselves, particularly in terms of job satisfaction and autonomy in the workplace.”

The most recent CSO figures indicate that there were 306,600 people classified as self-employed in Ireland in Q2 2021 – a figure down slightly from 325,800 in Q4 last year.

PAYE for all

Mr. Cahill reported that the survey showed overwhelming support for a revamp of the self-assessed tax system to create a pay-as-you-go type model for self-employed taxpayers,

“Previous surveys we’ve conducted have had a similarly robust response to such a proposal, so there’s very much a call among taxpayers to the powers that be to implement changes that would make tax compliance a lot easier to manage for the self-employed.

“With the ROS deadline fast approaching there are hundreds if not thousands of business owners throughout the country scrambling to get their affairs in order or face fines and penalties for missing the deadline.

“With so much on your plate as a small business owner, it can be easy to fall behind or lose track of where you are in terms of your accounting, and the survey indicates clearly that a pay-as-you-go system would be a big help for many.”