Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his opening remarks. As a party, we support the expansion of double taxation agreements into which we enter as a country. I note, as the Minister of State said, that the initial request in respect of this agreement came from the Ghanaian authorities back in 2012. In general terms, double taxation agreements are a positive thing in that they facilitate trade and commerce between countries and avoid the kinds of distortions that can arise in the administration of a tax system where there is no such reciprocal arrangement in place.

The Minister of State has said - and this is in the information note - that the Department of Finance provided that this agreement includes provisions in drafting which feature in both the OECD and the UN model conventions, which he said are there to address harmful tax practices and are the international gold standard. Again, both at the committee hearing and directly from Christian Aid we have heard some very significant concerns about particular provisions on withholding taxes, the most favoured nation mechanism, permanent establishment provisions and certain taxing rights on the gains from the sale of assets. I understand the point the Minister of State makes, that the Ghanaian authorities have not raised concerns directly, they presumably want this to proceed and they are in favour of it, but he needs to address these concerns.

In addition, and on foot of the debate we have just had on the multilateral convention, there is no commitment, it would appear, from Ghana that it will sign up to the multilateral convention. What the Minister of State has said on this point is that as Ghana has not done so, the Irish Government has contacted Ghana's tax authority proposing a bilateral protocol to the treaty if this is Ghana's preferred way to implement the anti-BEPS measures. The Ghanaian authorities have replied saying they are considering the best way forward for Ghana on this matter, but the "what if" question must be asked and answered. What if Ghana does not sign up to the multilateral convention and does not bring forward any proposals as to how to deal with the BEPS provisions, which are provided for within the multilateral convention? We have a duty not only to protect Ireland's interest, but also to ensure that countries with which we enter into double taxation agreements meet the same standards as ours. The Minister of State needs to address this question in his closing remarks.

We would like to see this double taxation agreement proceed. In general terms, having such agreements in place is a positive thing for developing countries, and it is worth remarking that the initiative has come from the Ghanian side. It wants this to proceed and clearly believes it is in its national interest for the agreement to be put into force. That said, the fact that it has not yet signed up to the multilateral convention raises questions. Then we have the provisions in this agreement that are particular to the agreement we have with Ghana into which the Minister of State proposes we enter, as opposed to the common features of agreements we have with other countries. These issues need to be addressed as well.

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