Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to discuss the report by Senators Carl Levin and John McCain on the taxation habits of the Apple corporation in Cork. This is an extremely serious report of approximately 40,000 words and 152 detailed footnotes and references and it requires a response from us. I will give the House a flavour of it presently. The Fiscal Advisory Council should examine the issues involved such as how corporations are taxed. There is a view in economics that too many tax lawyers and accountants are involved, that they are a dead weight loss, and what is required is a simple corporate tax system with a low rate across the board and no deductions or allowances. We have developed a tax lawyer and accountant industry which does not produce anything. There were some elements of this in the Finance Bill we considered. The Revenue Commissioners should respond to the issues also.

The evidence given to the US authorities was from Apple executives who are named in the report. They stated they have negotiated a special corporate tax rate of less than 2%. Yesterday, the eminent economist Colm McCarthy stated we do not do this and asked where the idea came from, but somebody from the Apple Corporation stated it in evidence to the US authorities. This must be dealt with in a way which goes beyond soundbites. In three years Apple Operations International reported a net income of €30 billion but declined to declare any tax of residence. These hidden corporations are headquartered in Apple in Cork which claims to have negotiated a 2% rate with the Irish Government. It is quite damaging. Apple Operations International has the same mailing address as several other Apple affiliates in Cork, has no physical presence in any other country and did not pay any taxes. There is sizeable evidence of international tax evasion which requires a response from the Revenue Commissioners. It is necessary to confirm this 2% rate does not exist. It may have been adduced in evidence in the United States to get Apple off the hook, but we cannot have a tax system where individuals or corporations negotiate their own rates. Rather than soundbites, it requires a considered response from the Revenue Commissioners and the Minister for Finance. The wider issues, such as what principles should inform the taxation of corporations, should be referred to the Fiscal Advisory Council.