European Commission plan on tax was a ‘red line’ for Ireland

European Commission plans that could have removed Ireland’s veto on setting tax rates were described as “highly sensitive” and “a red-line issue” for the country in Department of Finance documents.

An internal briefing explained how Ireland would not support any effort to change Ireland’s tax sovereignty, but suggested the plans were unlikely to be supported by enough EU countries. In January, the European Commission published a proposal, suggesting that “qualified majority voting” be introduced for EU tax policy.