Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 March 2018
60. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Finance his views on proposals by the European Commission to introduce an EU wide digital services tax which would possibly threaten Ireland’s industrial policy for retaining and attracting foreign direct investment; and the steps he and his ministerial colleagues are taking at EU Council level to ensure Ireland’s interests are protected. [12981/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is my understanding that the the European Commission will bring forward proposals on Digital Taxation on 21 March. It would be premature of me to comment in advance of the publication, let alone the discussions which must take place among Member States.
We believe that further analysis is needed to achieve a globally agreed, evidence based solution, sustainable in the long run and focussed on aligning taxing rights with the location of real substantive value creating activity. It has long been our position that it has been the mis-match arising from different tax systems which has facilitated aggressive tax planning and the only sustainable way to address this is for countries to cooperate globally through the OECD.
I note that the OECD Task Force on the Digital Economy Report published on 16 March sets out their process for further work on a long term proposal while the report is quite clear that there is no consensus at international level on the need for, or indeed merits of, any short term tax measures in this regard. The Report acknowledges that short term measures are likely have adverse impacts on investment and growth and risk increasing double taxation and complexity for taxpayers and tax authorities alike.
Ireland will continue to actively engage with work in the area of the digital economy at both OECD and EU level. We have been a strong voice in the many tax directives that have been agreed at EU level in recent years and we look forward to critically assessing the Commission’s proposals in the context of the discussions at Council.
