Noel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael)
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183. To ask the Minister for Finance the position regarding the Government's attempts to remove Ireland from a blacklist of tax havens listed by the Brazilian Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5956/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Irish ambassador to Brazil is leading our engagement with the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service.  Officials from the Department of Finance, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are in close contact with the ambassador and supporting these efforts. 

As I previously informed the House, the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service have agreed to meet a technical delegation from the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners to discuss Brazil's inclusion of Ireland on its tax list. The details of this technical delegation are being finalised.  Our technical delegation will seek to fully explain our corporate tax system and outline that we believe it is wholly inappropriate for Ireland to be included on this list. 

I should add that Brazilian Federal Revenue Service have made clear that they do not consider Ireland to be a tax haven.  I strongly reject allegations that we are 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 practice in the areas of tax transparency and exchange of information. Ireland's corporate tax policies are designed to attract real and substantive operations to Ireland. Ireland has not been and will never be a brass plate location. Ireland only has and wants real substantive foreign direct investment, the kind that brings real jobs and investment.

 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 base erosion and profit sharing, BEPS, recommendations both domestically and internationally. On Budget Day I published an update on Ireland's international tax strategy that highlights our continuing efforts in this regard.