AIB to pay no corpo tax for 20 years: CEO

AIB will not pay a cent in corporation tax for more than 20 years, despite making €814m profit in the first half of this year.

The situation was branded “an absolute disgrace” by Pearse Doherty of Sinn Féin, who was questioning AIB bosses at the Oireachtas Finance Committee yesterday.

“We have a significant deferred tax asset, which is the guts of €3bn,” said the bank’s CEO, Bernard Byrne. When asked by Mr Doherty as to when he expected the bank to start paying tax on its profits, Mr Byrne said: “In excess of 20 years on a current basis. Yes.”