Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2018
77. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the way in which he is defending Irish interests in matters of taxation in view of the move by some in the EU to harmonise and federalise tax policies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4313/18]
View answerLast week the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach heard two MEPs discuss the proposed CCTB and CCCTB. Given what they said and given what we know the European Commission is proposing which goes beyond the CCCTB, it seems the Government is failing miserably to have any positive impact or influence on the EU or any other party to protect Ireland's interests.
Do the Government and Minister believe that the Apple case and other instances which have been amplified in the media, both domestically and internationally, have blackened our name and reduced our chances of getting a fair hearing about tax sovereignty?
No. The Deputy points to miserable failure. I point to the fact that, over recent years, we have been successful in protecting our corporate tax policy. As the Deputy will know, the level of corporation tax receipts that we collect has moved from €4 billion to €8 billion which does not meet any definition of miserable failure. More broadly, any tax directive at EU level leads to convergence of some aspect of tax.
Ireland has supported the EU anti-tax avoidance directives which standardise anti-avoidance measures across the EU in line with the OECD base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, recommendations. However, taxation remains within the competence of individual member states. Unanimity is needed before any tax changes can be agreed at EU level. Proposals for tax harmonisation at EU level are not new. The common consolidated corporate tax base, CCCTB, has been discussed for years and was first formally proposed in 2011. Ireland's position has always been clear. We do not support tax harmonisation that undermines a member state's ability to set its own tax rate and to determine its own tax base. We have shown, however, that we are willing to engage with and agree EU tax directives that seek to implement agreed international best practice in a consistent manner across the EU. This remains Ireland's position.
As always, in line with A Programme for a Partnership Government, Ireland is constructively engaging in the debate on the CCCTB proposal while critically analysing the extent to which the proposal impacts Ireland's interests. We are by no means alone in having such concerns. These views are shared by many other member states across the EU.
As much as the two MEPs who came before the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach did not want to acknowledge it, they had to acknowledge that Ireland has a veto on this issue. Even if President Juncker got his way and tried to implement qualified majority voting, we would still have a veto on the decision about whether we move to that point. Will the Minister confirm to the Dáil this evening that he will use the veto on the issue of CCCTB if necessary if a proposal is tabled? We also have a French-led proposal on digital taxation which is coming down the road in the future. It all points to a concentrated campaign that we need to mount. There is no doubt, whatever the Minister wants to say, that he has left himself wide open with the way that he treats multinationals. The issue he introduced in the Finance Act about not dealing with intangible assets that have been onshored and that will be claimed in future years is another example of that. People are not stupid anymore. As I told the Minister, the winds of change are blowing hard. The Minister has left Ireland in a vulnerable position. We also hear that officials in the Department have been instructed by the Taoiseach to say nothing at the meetings. These are the meetings where much of the horse-trading and wheeling and dealing takes place. Is it the case that this is the direction the Minister, his Department or indeed the Taoiseach has given to the officials representing our countries at those meetings?
The only instruction I give to our officials is to participate fully in all discussions about issues that affect Ireland and to represent our national interest, which they do. I will not agree to any proposals that undermine our decision-making rights on the future of taxation in Ireland or undermine the legitimate use of corporate tax policy to retain and attract jobs to our country.
We are on the same page as the Minister on the issue of tax sovereignty. I fundamentally disagree with the way he and his predecessor provide loophole after loophole to allow multinationals to avoid paying their appropriate tax rate, which is 12.5%. We agree with the Minister on the issue of tax sovereignty. We need to have a concentrated campaign. We had two rapporteurs, people in senior positions in the European Parliament, before the committee. Neither knew that Ireland had three corporation tax rates. There was complete ignorance. They have written reports without knowing it. We are not informing the people who are in the middle of making decisions. I understand that the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, met them. If I am misinformed, maybe the Minister of State can correct the record. They put on the record of the committee that the Minister of State told their members that the instruction given to the officials was not to engage. They have never requested the floor of the meeting. It is important to clear that up. We are on the same hymn sheet on this issue and we now have to have a proper campaign. The Minister needs to clean up his backyard for us to mount that campaign properly.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to correct the record. I was told that the two MEPs went to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach and said that I said something. I want to be clear that what was said by the MEP was advice that he offered to me for the Taoiseach to take, which is a very different thing. I said to the MEP that that was not a matter for me to decide but for other people to decide. I thanked him for his advice. I, under no circumstances, said any such thing that he put on the record of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. I want to clarify that for the committee and thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to do so.
