Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 30 November 2017

Public Accounts Committee

Comptroller and Auditor General 2016 Report
Chapter 20: Corporation Tax Receipts

9:00 am

Mr. Niall Cody:

We have to calculate the figure based on the Commission's methodology and interpretation of the rules. In fairness to it, the reason it included the figure in the press release rather than the decision was that, broadly, it had taken the worldwide profits and multiplied the figure by 12.5%. That is the basic approach. What the Commission would not have carried out is a detailed examination of the component elements of each year. Regarding the idea of us looking back over the 11-year period or the period of ten years plus, we have to go through the information in granular detail for the given case. However, we would not have any legal basis on which to engage in a similar exercise for any other company.