Accountants call for ‘unified’ corporation tax

AN island of Ireland corporate tax rate of 12.5% has been proposed by the country’s largest professional body of accountants.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) said that a reduction of Northern Ireland’s corporation tax rate to 12.5% to match the Republic of Ireland would benefit business in both jurisdictions.

Speaking at the ICAI’s annual conference in Belfast, the group’s vice-president Jim Aiken said: “A unified front on the taxation of trading activities on the island of Ireland will attract investment from abroad, and support all island markets to the direct benefit of both economies.

“We also believe that a corporation tax rate in the North which is in line with the South will encourage investment from South to North as well as from North to South.”

“Such a move is not tax competition, it is a kind of tax facilitation — removing tax barriers. Reducing the corporation tax rate in the North to bring it in line with the South will only create winners.”

Meanwhile, the latest barometer from the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) said half of all accountants surveyed expect the business climate in Ireland to deteriorate over the next twelve months.

One-in-three CPA members surveyed believes that Ireland is a supportive place to do business while 72% have seen their personal income rise this year compared to 2006.