Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The participants of the G20 would not put it as graphically as the Deputy but there is a general view that the corporate sector worldwide should contribute more to the budgets of countries. The only feasible way of addressing multinationals is on a multinational basis, and no one small country can remediate an international practice. The Deputy would agree with that as well. This is why the G20 has asked the OECD to bring forward recommendations on how the international community can move on a reform agenda on corporate tax. As that is happening, I expect the OECD to publish recommendations during the summer, with a view to them being discussed by the G20 in September or October. That is the timeline, although there is significant movement.
In the meantime I do not want Ireland to be beaten up with false information, because we are not a tax haven and we are totally transparent. The likes of Google has 3,000 people in the docklands working, and they are not a fiction for tax purposes. The problem with the work produced by the professor in Trinity College is that he has taken American data and included all companies incorporated in Ireland, even if they have not a presence here. As he includes those factors, he has formulated the 2% figure, which is incorrect. Taking the companies that have established in Ireland and make profits here, one would get a much higher figure. There is a very clear and transparent system but we took some reputational damage because of misinformation.
In the last Finance Bill I dealt with the issue of companies incorporated in Ireland which are not liable for tax anywhere. With the international movement emanating from OECD recommendations, most countries will have to make a similar move, although we are not yet sure where that will be. The most recent publication on the matter is a statement by Commissioner Almunia, who is responsible for state aid matters. He is reported in the business pages of The Irish Timesthis morning with quite a long statement. He indicates that while certain aspects of the Irish tax system are being examined, there is no suggestion that Ireland is a tax haven, and the 12.5% rate is not being examined. That is the most recent piece of available information.