Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I, too, would like to raise the issue of the Oxfam report that came out on Monday. Deputy O'Sullivan quite rightly refers to the need for tax justice. Another way to look at this might be enlightened self-interest in that if we do our bit for global taxation, it will make for a stronger reputation for Ireland and a stronger investment in Ireland. As the Taoiseach knows, Oxfam has ranked Ireland as the sixth-worst tax haven in the world. It would be easy to dismiss Oxfam's report as unfair, misleading or alarmist. However, it is not alone. In 2013, Ireland was singled out as a tax haven by the US Senate committee on homeland security. In 2015, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty reported that, when lists of tax havens are drawn up, Ireland is always prominent among them. Just a few months ago, Brazil added Ireland to its list of tax havens. I agree with the Taoiseach that Ireland is absolutely not a tax haven. However, there is a growing international perception that we just might be. That is damaging our international reputation, but it could do far worse. Our international trade treaties are predicated on us not being a tax haven.

Oxfam has levelled three charges at Ireland. The first charge is that our corporation tax rate is too low. With the greatest of respect to Oxfam, I would suggest that that is none of its business. That is entirely within the competence of this country. The second charge that Oxfam levels is that Ireland facilitates large-scale profit sharing. Several years ago, that would have been a very reasonable charge. However, I agree that considerable progress has been made in recent years. The third charge that Oxfam levels at us is that we offer tax incentives to certain sectors that allows them to avoid paying tax. On this point, unfortunately, Oxfam is absolutely on the money.

In recent years, we have seen the creation of new suite of investment funds for property investors. Some of the investors are domestic, but they are mainly foreign. These include real estate investment trusts, qualified investment funds, Irish collective asset management vehicles, and now, most recently, Irish real estate funds. Until a few years ago, property companies paid tax on their profits, just like other companies in Ireland. Almost every OECD country applies that principle. Ireland does not anymore. Using these new vehicles, big foreign landlords can pay no tax in Ireland on massive profits. Critically, they do not have to file publicly accessible accounts. We do not know what level of taxes are being avoided, we do not know what profits are being offshored and we do not know what rulings these funds have received from the Revenue Commissioners. What is worrying is that the OECD lists four criteria for tax havens, and in Ireland, foreign landlords now meet three of those four criteria. I have two questions. First, does the Taoiseach agree that property companies in Ireland should pay taxes on the profits they make in Ireland? Second, does the Taoiseach agree that investment funds availing of tax avoidance mechanisms in this country should have to file publicly accessible accounts?

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