Results 5,561-5,580 of 26,843 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: The Vice Chairman should not cut across me.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: That is very illuminating for the people following these proceedings.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: In my opinion we need to examine the position with regard to corporate tax because this country is in a dire state and desperately needs revenue. People who bear no responsibility whatsoever for the current economic crisis are being crucified to the point where it is unbearable. At the same time there is significant evidence that enormously profitable corporations are paying nothing or next...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I understand that argument and Professor Barry outlined it clearly. In fairness, he was very objective but he did make one moral value judgment when he stated while it may make sense for larger economies to have higher corporate tax rates, it does not make sense for smaller economies to have them. That matter is very much open to question and debate. I wish to put a direct question to...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: What is the concept?
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: That is empirical evidence, is it not?
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I would say that what we need-----
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Professor Barry has the reference for this, and for anyone who wants to seriously examine this, it is the CTS 1 table from the Department of Finance. People should also examine the CTS 3 table, which gives some of the headings under which the taxable profits of €70 billion are written down progressively such that they end up at €4 billion. That would be under headings such as...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: What I am saying is the figures are enormous and they need to be examined closely. I do not know what lies behind each of those. There is another heading, that of other deductions, which is baffling.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: It is our job to examine the impact of these reliefs and if they are being exploited. Research and development is a good idea in principle, but what is being actually classed as research and development? Is it being abused?
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Is that not a reasonable question given the fact that the Professor Barry is stating objectively that high paid lawyers and accountants are finding every possible loophole they can. They are pushing the law to the absolute limit. In those circumstances, do we not have to examine all these elements? Another major issue-----
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: That is a subject to debate. Professor Barry spoke about closeness to markets and so on as part of the reason for that. We are part of a very big market, the European Union. It seems obvious that part of the reason American companies base themselves here is that we are an English speaking country within the European Union and we have a well educated workforce which speaks English. That is...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Yes.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I thank Professor Barry for his interesting submission which got into the meat of this important issue. However, is he not understating the strategic importance of Ireland? Setting aside the tax issue, where else would Google and Facebook seriously go to access the European, north African and Middle Eastern markets other than an English-speaking country? It seems to me that they would not...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I have just one more sentence.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: In addition, there is a connected point. Professor Barry has accepted that the 11.1% is based on a hypothetical middle-sized company. Is that right?
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Professor Barry has told us they are Professor Devereux's data but he has not told us the source of the data.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I do not accept the figure provided because I have seen the Department of Finance figures and know the European Commission position. I think it is in the region of 6%. However, setting aside that figure, does Professor Barry accept that there is a very significant gap, even if it is 11.1%, between Ireland's effective rate and that of most other European countries?
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Given the strategic and language advantages and the fact that our rate is so much lower than in the remainder of Europe, is there not scope to increase the tax take from corporations without risking a flight of investment capital out of Ireland? It seems to me obvious that there is.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Joint Sub-Committee on Global Corporate Taxation: Base Erosion and Profit Sharing: Discussion with Trinity College (17 Sep 2013)
Richard Boyd Barrett: They are buying jets with the profits.