The Competition Directorate of the European Commission is currently conducting a review of corporate tax ruling procedures in various EU Member States in order to assess such practices under EU State Aid rules. What is involved at this stage is a preliminary gathering and examination of information on the part of the Commission for the purposes of getting an overview of the different tax ruling procedures in various Member States. I should add that this is not a formal EU State Aid investigation nor is it an enquiry that is specific to any one Member State.
Ireland is fully co-operating with the Commission in this exercise. While the Commission are already aware of the importance of Ireland’s corporation tax policy to the success of our economy, the present process relates to the Commissions duty to protect the operation of the single market.