Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Mr. Coffey's analysis that the change was made by press release. There was a long tale in regard to where it was going and all the rest. People were sufficiently conditioned for the outcome of the negotiations at that level.

There are two points I wish to make to tease this out. Mr. Coffey asked what this is about. I agree with his analysis that this is about tax competition and limiting the ability to have that breadth of advantages in terms of certain member states. We are in a position with the 15% that we are still competitive in terms of tax but that could change, not just because of renegotiation but because of other players deciding to reduce their marginal rates. On the basis that this is a minimum effective tax rate, does it not do far more than that? Does it not look at aggressive tax planning? Is it not the case that it is an effective tax rate as opposed to a tax rate?