Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Apple was a company dealing with the Revenue on the same basis as any other company. The point I make is that to state that Ireland is a tax pirate is grossly inaccurate. Mr. Tang was showboating a bit on the radio this morning. It is not an accurate picture of what we provide here in terms of jobs.

I wish to deal with a couple of points to which the witnesses might respond. If the CCCTB were to be introduced, which individual countries would benefit? I will deal specifically with Ireland because that is the country I represent. Will it narrow the tax base in Ireland as a country? Will it undermine our economic policy? Will it affect the large amount of jobs based on the multinational sector that have been built up over the past 30 to 40 years, if not longer?

Has an impact statement been carried out on the effect of CCCTB? The preliminary assessment by the European Commission has said it would be 0.4% of GDP. We are a small export nation. To put it in context, multinational companies in Ireland employ about 250,000 people. That is outside of the indirect jobs in indigenous companies. Associated turnover is approximately €78 billion. Irish companies operating on a multinational basis have approximately the same number of jobs in companies around the world. The sectors are more or less comparable. We are a country that has both foreign direct investment in and we have a large amount of foreign direct investment out. We have some of the largest multinational companies such as CRH that operate globally. We are a small open economy. That is the basis of our economy. We are not like France and Germany that have large population bases whereby companies can operate within the local economy. Our population requires us to be an export nation. We also have to attract companies here that will export goods. The companies that come here operate in the European market. One of the aspects of Europe is that it has a Single Market and free trade within its borders. As a country we attract companies here to avail of that. The OECD BEPS project which has been looking at how transfer pricing would operate would afford a more equitable measure to deal with the issues raised in terms of taxes. I do not disagree with the witnesses that there are issues to be dealt with but it was grossly unfair of Mr. Tang to make a sweeping statement to the effect that we are tax pirates. I invite him to deal with that accusation.

Do the witnesses accept that our 12.5% rate is a transparent one? It is a rate that is easy to understand. We have a system that operates in a very effective manner in terms of companies coming in and knowing exactly what is involved. We are unique in that we are an island nation. The UK is currently dealing with Brexit. We are a small island nation on the periphery of Europe. We are boxing above our weight. I make no apology for that. We are bringing in companies from abroad that employ many thousands of people and they contribute in a major way.

The witness referred to corporation tax. They contribute in terms of jobs, which provides PAYE and PRSI, paid for by the employees themselves. Employers PRSI is paid on top of that. They make a major contribution. I welcome the witnesses, and I hope they get a chance to see Ireland. Perhaps he has seen it before. I presume they have been here before.