Dr. Eddie Casey:

We would not advocate that specifically, but we would advocate the broadening the tax base if we thought the Government wanted to spend more. The idea that spending has fallen to levels that might not be acceptable to some parties is fine. If there is a desire to increase it, it should be done in line with a sustainable suspending rule or taxes should be increased so you can go even further. The idea we are trying to get across regarding these types of rules and the whole system the EU is trying to move towards involves having sustainability at the heart of the system, so that if you do want to do more, it should be taxed sustainably. The danger with Ireland’s corporation tax receipts is that, because they are so concentrated, there are huge risks over what would happen to one or two companies or over our not knowing what would happen to them. That gets into an environment in which there is really a need to assess the sustainability of the tax base if you are to examine spending as well.