Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Beyond the substance of the debate on whether the knowledge development box is positive or negative, beyond the accusation that some multinational companies based here are paying corporation tax at a very low rate, beyond the fact that the European Commission is taking this issue more seriously than many Deputies on both sides of this House, and while still acknowledging the positive role many multinational companies play in this State, the amendment is about trying to ensure good analysis of what happens when the arrangement goes live. The amendment does not advocate the scrapping of the knowledge development box nor does it ask that the rate be changed. It acknowledges that work has been done on the impact. For example, we know the figure of €50 million. The amendment refers to the period of nine months after the passage of this legislation. It speaks to the impact the arrangement will have when it goes live. All this is based on a guesstimate. In spite of our having the best will in the world, we are still guessing about the position in the next year. However, we cannot be sure. The Minister informed me yesterday in responses to parliamentary questions that the top 20% of corporation taxpayers recorded a 57% increase in their corporation tax bill this year so far. Nobody in the Department or anybody else expected that. Therefore, we do not know what will happen when the knowledge development box kicks in. Will it be positive or negative or will considerable funds just be parked in it to avail of a lower rate of corporation tax? It will not result in new research and development, new initiatives and new types of products, as Deputy Michael McGrath outlined.

The amendment speaks to the need to carry out further assessment, which we should be doing as a matter of course. The reason for stipulating a period of nine months is that it allows us time, just before the next finance Bill, to determine whether there is a need to amend, tweak, scrap, or refine the knowledge development box. It would empower both sides of the House with the knowledge available at the time in order that they may carry out the necessary work on next year's finance Bill. While I acknowledge that, even at that stage, information may be patchy or sketchy owing to the possibility of our not having details covering a three-year period, we will have more information than we have at present. This needs to be kept under review. The sector is highly mobile and is worth billions of euro. When we create avenues like this, we could also be creating something we or the Minister did not set out to create, even with my reservations on the knowledge development box itself as an entity.

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