Lisbon treaty will provide a way to undermine our corporate tax policy

WE the EU Democrats (EUD) wish to point out a certain matter that was not touched in your report headlined ‘McCreevy warns on corporate tax’ (April 12).

While Mr McCreevy promised he would oppose any attempts to change the Irish corporate tax, he did not in fact mention all the legal means that could bring about such a change.

In fact, the Lisbon treaty will implement a way that could bypass unanimity voting in the Council of Ministers on taxation and give the power to a simple majority vote in the European Court.

Article 113 of the Lisbon treaty on the functioning of the EU, as amended by the Lisbon treaty, will contain a new amendment mentioning that any “distortion of competition” will have to be eliminated.

Any foreign company can complain at the European Court of Justice that the low Irish tax is undermining the internal market.

The court can afterwards rule against the low corporate tax — even through a simple majority vote — and there is nothing Mr McCreevy could do to prevent its modification.

I have suggested that the Irish Government should try to protect this advantage for Ireland. A binding protocol can still be implemented — yet nothing is being done. We hope that we helped clarify this issue for you and, possibly, for your readers.

We, the EUD, strive to inform the citizens of Europe on the special aspects of EU democracy, the main problem at the moment being the nature of the Lisbon treaty. We believe Irish citizens, as well as others, have a right to know the truth.

Jens-Peter Bonde MEP

(Author, ‘A Reader-friendly Edition of the Lisbon Treaty’ at www.euabc.com)

European Parliament

Brussels