Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Our tax approach seems to be effective in the labour market because approximately 1,200 net jobs a week are being created and have been created for the past 17 months and the projections are that this level of net job creation will be maintained. It is a long-standing commitment across the main parties that the 12.5% corporation tax rate will be maintained and the Government is committed to it also. This is essential to our job creation programme, the flow of foreign direct investment into the country and something like 300,000 jobs that are dependent on the foreign direct investment. The Deputy is incorrect to say the effective rate of corporation tax is 8%. The most recent study was conducted by Professor Seamus Coffey of UCC, together with officials in my Department. They made an analysis of all the work done in recent years to come up with a figure for the effective rate of tax and their figure is 10.8%, a very high effective rate of tax on a nominal rate of 12.5%.

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