Corporate tax change ‘against EU policy’

IBEC and the IFSC have both weighed in on the debate over the prospect of Ireland having to raise its corporate tax rate in return for a bailout agreement, saying such a move would be “counter-productive” and “against basic EU policy”.

Speaking at the launch of a new report into the value to the Irish economy of the IFSC (International Financial Services Centre) its president, John Bruton, said that corporation tax is the one area of Ireland’s tax network which is currently ahead of target, in terms of revenue take.

The former taoiseach added that the country’s low level corporate tax policy has been in place for more than half a century (the rate actually being upped to 12.5% when he was in office in the late 1990s) and comfortably pre-dated Ireland’s entry into the EEC/European Union.