Co-operation will not dilute our sovereignty

ANTHONY COUGHLAN can once again be accused of misrepresenting the facts of the Nice Treaty in his recent statements on tax harmonisation.

I am fully in favour of debating with members of the No campaign, but I believe that in order for the necessary discussion to occur in a frank and informative manner, the facts must be recognised for what they truly are.

Firstly, he states that our low corporate tax rates (currently 10% for manufacturing, 16% for trading with profits over 254,000 and 25% on passive income and not the blanket 12.5% as stated by Mr Coughlan) are a factor in encouraging foreign investment in the Irish economy. This is true.