Dáil debates
Wednesday, 7 September 2016
Government Appeal of European Commission Decision on State Aid to Apple: Motion
9:05 pm
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source
I move amendment No. 3:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann:" and substitute the following:"notes:
— that appealing the decision of the European Commission creates uncertainty thereby causing further reputational damage to Ireland;
— the decision to appeal the ruling of the European Commission was made without recourse to Dáil Éireann despite there being a significant cost to the State associated with such a decision;
— the need to reaffirm the 12.5 per cent rate of Corporation Tax and ensure that the effective tax paid by corporations is commensurate with that rate;
— that the tax ruling provided to Apple was unethical and resulted in a significant loss of revenue to Ireland and other States;
— that appealing the European Commission's decision requires the State to refuse any amounts found to be owed to it by a multi-billion dollar corporation; and
— that the European Court of Justice has a strong track record of supporting the decisions of the European Commission thus rendering this appeal a costly but futile exercise;
confirms that proceeding with the appeal will be a hugely costly legal exercise further impacting the loss to the State associated with the tax ruling;
notes the valuable work that the European Commissioner for Competition has undertaken over recent years; and
calls for:
— an immediate commitment to close any current loopholes which allow for the avoidance of tax; and
— a deferral of the vote on the Government’s motion until the full ruling is published and made available."
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