Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for their presentation.

From my observations on the CCCTB proposals, I do not see them going anywhere. I cannot see how these proposals are not encroaching on member state competence over taxation. The Commission is essentially seeking to rewrite our entire corporation tax code. It tells us the rate is a matter for Ireland but the rate will apply to something determined by these common rules. Once the base is agreed, the allocation of profits will again be determined by EU-wide rules, if these proposals were introduced. How is this not an encroachment on the core competence of member states over the issue of taxation?

There is a long-standing argument, based on analysis, that overall this is a big negative for Ireland in terms of our corporation tax receipts and our attractiveness as a country for inward investment. Will the delegation address this? When it comes to the consolidation and allocation of profits across the EU, the three factors will be one third, one third, one third. One of them is sales by destination. Ireland will rank close to a statistical zero on that one third, given the scale of the Irish market in the EU. This is the basis on which profits will be allocated across different member states.

How does the delegation deal with the issue of competence and the argument, backed up by analysis, that this is a negative for Ireland? It seems to me that it is a matter of time before the Irish Government will repeat its previous position that it is not in favour of this.