Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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145. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on reports by an organisation (details supplied) showing Ireland as a tax haven; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40901/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I strongly reject any allegation that Ireland is a tax haven.  Ireland does not meet any of the international standards for being considered a tax haven. Ireland is fully compliant with all international best practices in the areas of tax transparency and exchange of information.  We only have and want real substantive FDI, the kind that brings real jobs and investment into Ireland.  

The Oxfam report includes Ireland's 12.5% rate as one of the factors in calling Ireland a tax haven. I strongly reject this characterisation of our tax rate.  Interestingly, the report also recognises the benefits of the 12.5% and does not seek for the rate to change, while it appears to ignore that beside the 12.5 % rate, Ireland applies a 25% rate on passive income and 33% on capital gains. The 12.5% rate is fully in line with OECD and international best practice of having a low rate and applying it to a very wide tax base. The 12.5% rate is only available on trading profits where there is substantial activity in Ireland. Ireland's corporate tax policies are designed to attract real and substantive operations to Ireland.  Ireland has not been and will never will be a brass-plate location.

The Oxfam report also lists Ireland's tax incentives as being a feature of a tax haven.  This is simply incorrect. Ireland has a very limited number of targeted tax incentives that are fully in line with agreed international best practice.  The Knowledge Development Box, which is singled out in the report, was the first such measure in the world to be deemed fully compliant with OECD rules by the Forum on Harmful Tax Practices.  While a number of countries not included on the Oxfam list have boxes which failed these rules and were considered harmful, Ireland's box was fully approved. 

Finally, the Oxfam report mentions Ireland in the context of profit shifting activities.  I have been clear that aggressive tax planning can best be countered by international tax reform.  Profit shifting can only be carried out where global rules applied in all countries are ineffective or misaligned. This is why the BEPS project was needed and why the BEPS recommendations now need to be implemented globally. For this reason, Ireland is an active participant in global work to reform the international corporate tax system.  We have implemented Country by Country Reporting, agreed the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive and are working towards the implementation of the remaining OECD BEPS recommendations both domestically and internationally. On Budget Day, I published an Update on Ireland's International Tax Strategy which highlights our continuing efforts in this regard.