Legal boost for low corporation tax

LOW corporation tax rates should not be challenged on the grounds that they are illegal state aid, according to a legal opinion from the European Court of Justice.

One region of a country can in certain circumstances also have a different rate to the rest of that member state, the opinion also said, in a change to what has been enforced by the European Commission up to now.

This advice, if followed by the court in its full ruling expected later this year, could have implications both for Ireland’s corporation tax rates and a new revised rate for the North.