07/09/22

IRELAND: No sign of risk to corporation tax sustainability, says Donohoe.

As published on rte.ie, Wednesday 7 September, 2022.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said there "is no sign" the trading environment facing multinationals located in Ireland is changing in a way that could pose a risk to the sustainability of Ireland's corporate tax receipts.

The minister made his remarks in an interview recorded last week with the accountancy firm PwC and which was broadcast in a webinar this morning.

A report from the Department of Finance on the sustainability of record levels of corporate taxes is due before the Cabinet today.

The minister also expressed confidence that proposals on a new, internationally agreed minimum level of corporate tax would be agreed both in the US and the EU.

He described discussions around the second pillar of the OECD brokered agreement, announced last year, which allocated taxing rights to the profits of big corporations across different countries as "technical", adding that it "will take some time to move on".

Mr Donohoe also said if there is not progress on these reforms, then "we would be back to square one" and "the risks to small open economies will be significant".

He said assistance for small and medium sized companies' energy costs would form part of the Budgetary package but he did not go into any details.

He also said the future security of Europe would depend on how successful it is in becoming a clean energy producer.