Mr. Sean O'Sullivan:

It also needs to be broader because it only applies in certain circumstances. I understand the intent because I made that recommendation to several people who thought it was being addressed, but it was not executed in a way that could be used. I alert committee members to what accountants and others are advising. No one wants to pay capital gains tax of 33.3% in Ireland - it would be insane to do so. Instead, a company is set up in the United Kingdom which owns the Irish company; it pays capital gains tax of 10% in the United Kingdom and Ireland receives nil when the company is sold. This is called arbitrage. When really high tax rates are created, they drive people to avail of arbitrage. That said, it is legal to do this in the European Union, with the result that a lower amount in capital gains tax will be collected here as a result of having the higher rate of capital gains tax. We should be aware that this should be changed or else the rate of collection will be even lower than we think.