‘No figures’ on non-resident firms

The Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners have no idea how many companies are Irish-incorporated but non-resident here for tax purposes.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said that he had not instructed the Revenue Commissioners to investigate non-resident Irish companies.

“I have not commissioned the Revenue Commissioners to conduct a report on companies that are incorporated as Irish but non-resident for tax purposes.

“I am informed by the Commissioners that they have considered such companies in the course of monitoring the arrangements of large cases.

“I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the number of companies and the names of same, that are incorporated here but non-resident for tax purposes — and numbers of any related jobs — are not available as they are not separately compiled,” he said in a response to a Dáil question by Sinn Féin TD, Pearse Doherty

As far back as 1998, the Department of Finance, in a paper, had warned that non-resident companies in Ireland could pose a threat to the country’s reputation.

“Irish registered non-resident companies have posed a threat to Ireland’s international image and its reputation as a well-regulated jurisdiction for conducting business.

“These companies are regularly advertised ‘for sale’ in international magazines, often alongside companies which are incorporated in tax havens and jurisdictions with relaxed regulatory regimes,” the paper states.

Mr Doherty said he was worried about the lack of action by successive governments which led to Ireland being branded as a pariah state in the US senate.

“The 1998 paper shows how this issue was identified a long time ago but sufficient action was not taken.

“The fact that the Government doesn’t know how many of these companies exist in Ireland but are tax-resident in another country is disturbing too. We are told we have a transparent tax system but this information shows that the Government is unaware of the size of the issue and that successive governments did not grasp the nettle.”

An Oireachtas Finance sub-committee has been set up to investigate Ireland’s position in the international tax structure. It will meet behind closed doors before the end of the month.