Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----with the likes of Singapore and Israel for these jobs. There are some here who would throw the jobs away and let them go to Singapore rather than ensure that we thrive in this country. Real leadership is about ensuring that our country thrives. The problem is that there are those who always like to posit views knowing that there is never a consequence for them. However, government and leadership are about doing something that has positive consequences for our people. The work done by my colleague, Deputy Joan Burton, changed the minimum effective tax rate for individuals and we need to do that for companies as well. Today we are seeking support for just the start of this reforming work and agreement by the representatives of the people that all profitable companies should pay a real rate of tax that is reasonable.

The final part of the Labour Party proposed amendment is perhaps the most important, and yet in many ways probably regarded as the least exciting. The Government acknowledges the need to have an overall review of our corporate tax regime. This is in the Government motion. However, it is making the same mistakes others have made in the past which is to presume that a one-off review of an ever-changing environment will solve the problem. Issues such as the abuse of section 110, which were not envisaged when section 110 was enacted, were not created by design. The abuse of that section, which some corporate law firms have openly advertised on their websites and which has already been referenced, should be stopped. Whatever changes we apply to our tax code, there are many people employed to find more loopholes. Based on our experience it seems odd to suggest that those loopholes will not be found. The Labour Party proposal is a modest one but, I believe, a truly effective one. We want to create an independent commission sitting on a permanent basis that will continue to examine the loopholes being exploited and suggest ways to plug them. There is no reasonable case that we should not continually examine how to prevent the creation and identification of tax loopholes or aggressive tax avoidance. We stand for levying a fair rate of tax on everyone, companies as well as individuals, and for spending the revenue raised from such measures in a fair and compassionate way. I hope that after all the debate, others will agree that the amendments we are proposing are reasonable and that they can attract the support of the House.

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