Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have been back and forward on this issue for some time. The Deputy is committed to his figures and we are committed to ours. The fundamental difference is that he is not having regard to the various allowances, losses and royalties companies face in the transaction of their business. I would question whether a separate independent investigation by our authorities, over and above what is happening internationally, would shed more light on the subject. For instance, the OECD is very involved in this issue in regard to politically exposed persons, PEPs. The Deputy is probably also aware from the replies he has received from the Department that the European Commission has examined this issue very closely and its view is that the effective tax rate in Ireland is 14.4%. That has been its position for quite some time and it has stated it clearly.

I have said to the Deputy in the past that we cannot tax something we do not own. The reality for these large-scale multinational businesses is that their entire operation is separated into many different parts of the world. As I have told him repeatedly, the IP of many of these devices and applications in the technology area is in one part of the world, manufacturing is in another, sales is in another and marketing is in another.

The Government cannot tax something that is outside this country. As the Minister, Deputy Noonan, has stated consistently, the Government's responsibility is to be responsible for taxing things that occur in this country. This is the reason the effective rate is so close to the actual rate of 12.5%, unlike other countries, because, ultimately, the Government taxes what takes place within this country.

The Deputy has also heard the Minister, Deputy Noonan, and me state that a period of change is under way. There is a significant European-wide initiative in this area, led by the bigger countries but which Ireland is supporting, to ensure there will be an advance in this area. The work of the OECD in creating the international standard on this - in respect of both information and the application of a solution - ultimately will resolve this particular problem. However, one can test the view stated by the Deputy. He is firm in his view - while the Government is firm in its view - that the 6.5% rate or the 6.8% rate applies because the distinction is between total profits of companies as against total taxable profits. That is the fundamental distinction the Government makes in asserting that Ireland's effective tax rate is quite close to the actual tax rate. I read the recent PwC report that highlighted a huge disparity in other EU member states in respect of the effective tax rate by comparison with the actual tax rate. I do not believe Ireland has anything to fear or anything about which to be concerned in the circumstance where there is such a small gap between the effective tax rate and the actual tax rate that exists here.

I will repeat what I told to the committee a while ago regarding the Revenue Commissioners' information on this, which has been published. It is worth re-stating that the Revenue Commissioners have stated their information is that of the figure of €41 billion, the total amount of corporation tax payable on these profits was €4.2 billion. This means that even on their figures, there is an effective tax rate of 10.3%, as opposed to the actual rate of 12.5%. Consequently, while there is a necessity to analyse this issue further, that analysis is ongoing at international level. It is feeding into the European-wide response to this issue and I do not discern any necessity for additional analysis on Ireland's part.