Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Very briefly in response to that, we all know the research and development tax credit is overwhelmingly benefiting a small number of big multinational corporations that are paying pitiful levels of tax, often below 1%. Is the Minister seriously suggesting that if we redirected some of that towards our public universities, for example, which might help deal with some of our labour and skills shortages, all the multinationals will run out of the country when they are paying a tax rate of less than 1%? I do not buy that. The Minister could argue that if we increased that to an effective rate of 20% it may have an impact. That is a debate. I do not believe it is a serious proposition to suggest we could close some of those loopholes and redirect some of the that.

I asked the Minister about employers' PRSI.