Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation

Ireland's Corporate Tax System: (Resumed) KPMG and Unite

3:50 pm

Mr. Michael Taft:

As I stated, we do not know. It may well reduce the number of companies who wish to come here because a number may believe we are on a slippery slope whereby the rate increased to 15% but that might increase to 18% next year and to 20% after that. However, we do not know. I made the point that back in the 1990s, when the headline tax rate of 10% was increased to 12.5%, there was no appreciable damage. It is possible to argue the toss and there are all sorts of arguments but one will not be able to come to any certainty until one actually does it.