JP McManus: I earn abroad but I spend it at home

BILLIONAIRE businessman JP McManus has said he was doing this country “more good” by earning his fortune abroad.

In a rare public comment on his tax status, Mr McManus hit back at critics of tax exiles, who say successful business people are not doing their patriotic duty by paying their taxes in Ireland.

“I didn’t leave the country in order to avoid paying a tax, or to avoid paying a future tax that was about to come down the line. I paid my taxes and I set up a business abroad,” he said.