Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

74. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on any talks or consultations that have taken place or are planned between him or his Department officials and the EU Commission or other EU member state Governments on the proposal for a knowledge box tax scheme for corporations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42446/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In recognition of the fact that investment and growth in OECD economies is increasingly driven by investment in intangible assets, putting in place an attractive intellectual property offering is key for Ireland's success in attracting FDI.  This is why in last month's Budget I made a clear statement of my intention to introduce a competitive income-based regime for intangible assets in Ireland which will be called a "Knowledge Development Box" or "KDB".

I view this as a positive measure for Ireland and my intention is that the Irish KDB will be among the best in class on offer internationally.  In order to gather views from as broad a spectrum as possible on what this may entail, I will launch a public consultation process before the end of this year on how the Irish KDB should operate. 

It is intended that the design of the KDB in Ireland will be along the lines of what are commonly known as 'patent boxes' which have existed for many years in countries that compete with us for FDI.  At present, the measures that are in place in our competitor jurisdictions are the subject of on-going discussions at the OECD and EU level, as regards to their compatibility with the international rules around fair tax competition.  

As I said in my Budget announcement, it will be necessary to ensure that the Irish KDB meets with the standards that remain to be agreed by both the OECD and the EU.  To date, my officials have already been actively participating in such discussions at fora including the OECD Forum on Harmful Tax Practices and the EU Code of Conduct for Business Taxation.