Firms pay as much tax as those in EU

IRISH companies pay as much in direct and indirect taxes as those in other EU countries despite Ireland’s 10% corporation tax rate, according to the World Bank.

The United Nations-backed specialist financial agency said in a new report that businesses in seven other EU countries - Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia - faced a lower tax burden than those in Ireland.

Several EU governments have targeted Ireland’s headline 10% corporation tax rate and complained it represents harmful tax competition between EU member states that diverts jobs from one region to another on the basis of perceived tax advantages.