OECD: Ditching ‘double Irish’ a smart move

The OECD has hailed the Government’s decision to abolish the controversial ‘double Irish’ tax avoidance programme as "a very smart move" and said it had no concerns that it would take six years to fully phase out the scheme.

The international economic think-tank has also thrown its initial support behind the Government’s so-called ‘knowledge box’ initiative, aimed at attracting technology and intellectual property developers here in return for a lower corporate tax rate.

Speaking yesterday after the close of the two-day OECD Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) meeting at Dublin Castle, Pascal Saint-Amans, head of the organisation’s centre for tax policy and administration, noted that the BEPS (base erosion and profit sharing) programme of incoming new international tax policy changes would have “neutralised” the ‘double Irish’ anyway. However, he said the move by Finance Minister Michael Noonan to signpost its abolition in last week’s budget announcement was “a very smart move in anticipation”.