Vol. 481 No. 2
40 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, the Government has to comply with the proposals in respect of corporation tax proposed by Commissioner Monti; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15719/97]
42 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the number of times the members of the Monti committee on taxation have met since 1 July 1997; if the committee will produce a report by the end of 1997; if he has instructed the Irish representative on that committee to ensure that Ireland's interests are protected in relation to the deliberations and conclusions of that committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15702/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 40 and 42 together.
The Taxation Policy Group, chaired by Commissioner Monti, met once since 1 July 1997. A further meeting of the group is scheduled for 20 October.
The group is not due to produce a report by the end of 1997. However, the group is examining Commission proposals for a tax package which includes a voluntary code of conduct to counter harmful tax competition and measures to address certain tax-related distortions affecting the Single Market. The Commission proposals will be discussed at the ECOFIN Council of Ministers meeting on 13 October and the Commission is seeking to have the proposals adopted by the Council before the year end.
As regards the code of conduct, it is proposed that this would be in the nature of a voluntary political agreement which would not amend or override Community law and which would respect the principle of subsidiarity whereby taxation policy remains the prerogative of the member states. In the discussions so far, we have sought to ensure that Irish interests are fully safeguarded and I can assure the House that we will continue to take a strong line against any proposals or suggestions which could be damaging to our interests. I should emphasise that the code of conduct is not aimed at standardising or harmonising corporation tax rates and we would be opposed to any moves in this direction as this would go way beyond the objective of tackling harmful tax competition.
