Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This series of amendments inserts the words "managed and controlled" into sections of the Bill. The objective appears to be to cause all companies registered in Ireland to be tax resident in Ireland. As Minister of State with responsibility for jobs, enterprise and innovation, I am not in a position to consider the full impact or consequences of any change to tax law. Such an exercise is within the functions of the Minister for Finance.

The proposed amendments are illegal under EU law and international law. The provisions would fall foul of the EU law of freedom of establishment, a core aspect of EU law. The European Commission closely monitors compliance with this law. The Commission has recently required Ireland to change a provision of Irish law which required that at least one director of an Irish company be resident in Ireland. This provision would go much further, effectively requiring all management activities to occur within the State. This is clearly a hindrance to cross-border trade within the European Union and significantly trammels the ability of a company from another EU member state to establish in Ireland. This proposal would put Ireland in breach of obligations under double taxation agreements with other countries. This is unprecedented and would be highly prejudicial to Irish commerce and to Ireland's reputation internationally. Therefore, I am not in favour of adopting these amendments.