Tax plans of 44th US president ‘will not devastate investment into Ireland’

THE election of a new US president will not have a devastating effect on foreign investment into Ireland, two leading US business figures have said.

Former economic advisor to former US President Bill Clinton, Robert Shapiro, said there would be no sizeable change in flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) as a result of a change in president.

“Foreign direct investment is not something you can turn on and off or pull in and out. It is a long-term investment,” he said.

Mr Shapiro’s sentiments were shared by the vice- president of Wyeth, Dr Michael Karmarck, who was also speaking yesterday at the University College Dublin business alumni conference on the FDI forecast.

Dr Karmarck said Ireland should not have anything to fear from the tax plans that could be implemented by the new president.

“We have long-term plans to make investments in Ireland,” he said.

However, the country officer for Citibank, Aidan Brady, said that Ireland would need to lobby very hard in the US to ensure it retained its tax advantage.

Mr Shapiro praised Ireland’s favourable tax laws and said success was also half luck and Ireland’s half luck was our English-speaking workforce.

Dr Karmarck added that the quality of our PhD graduates was much higher than in other locations such as China.

“Ireland needs to keep these standards,” he said.