THE Small Firms Association (SFA) has called for an all out drive to eliminate illegal trading, part of the black economy which it said is costing the Exchequer £1.8 billion a year in lost tax revenue.

The SFA said people had become complacent about the open selling of black market goods on the streets, which put legitimate businesses and their employees at risk.

Singling out the sale of counterfeit cassettes and illegal CDs it said these were estimated to cost the music industry £10 million a year.

This represented almost 16 per cent of the total retail music market.

"The impact of this level of illegal trade is most significant," said Mr Brendan Butler, SFA director.

"Retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers lose out and legitimate business pays a heavy price while valuable jobs are lost."

He said the penalties for counterfeiting were extremely low.

"In a case in Dundalk, over 120,000 CDs and 100,000 cassettes were seized with a street value of £2.5 million. However, the maximum penalty available was a fine of £1,000," he said. "This is hardly a deterrent."

He called for the immediate establishment of a joint Revenue Commissioners/Garda Task Force to curb illegal trading.

Gardai and the Revenue Commissioners could eliminate a element of illegal trading.

"Through ongoing efficiency measures and operational changes the forces should have extra resources.

"These additional resources should be combined to address the problem of illegal trading," he said.