Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's own research rubbishes what he says. It shows that the loss in the value of the three banks would amount to €480 million. Within 15 months my proposed cap of 25% would exceed the loss that would accrue. No other business that has incurred loss, whether it is the local hairdresser, the publican up the road or the local supermarket, was bailed out for its losses by the State. That is the what makes the banks different. We made up for their losses by transferring Exchequer money to them and now they want to benefit from the tax code. The reality is that we are an outlier in Europe and in the OECD, in allowing for 100% loss relief over an unlimited time. It is unjustifiable for the Minister to say it is okay for AIB not to pay a penny of corporation tax for 20 years. He again parrots the line from the industry that anything that changes the rules in this way will result in higher interest rates.

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