Three UCD Quinn School students Nicole Basquel, Sinead Feely and Rachel Breslin have won the prestigious Irish Tax Institute Fantasy Budget Competition.

Each year, the Minister for Finance introduces a Budget aimed at improving the Irish economy and ensuring the taxation system is fair across all sections of society. Many interested groups, including the Irish Tax Institute, make pre-Budget submissions to try to influence the outcome of the Budget.

The Irish Tax Institute gives third level students the opportunity to formulate analysis of the Budget and develop policy initiatives in the Fantasy Budget Competition. The awards recognise the application of academic theory to real life budget scenarios.

In their analysis Nicole, Sinead and Rachel identified three linked issues they believed were not addressed in Budget and developed policy initiatives around:

1. Unemployment and lack of commercial enterprises outside of Dublin

2. Excess demand for housing in Dublin

3. Oversupply of housing outside of Dublin and the plethora of “ghost estates”

They proposed the charging of a reduced rate of corporation tax of 12% for seven years to companies establishing in Ireland if they establish in zoned rural areas. They argued that initiatives such as these would address economic problems and benefit not just these areas but the Irish and European Union economies as a whole.