DUBLIN: Ireland has nothing to fear from EU moves to oblige us to reveal all special tax arrangements with multinational companies over the past decade, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny insists.
Mr Kenny has also signalled that the Government will step up its efforts to ease EU restrictions on increased public spending ahead of the next general election.
The single currency membership rules, to which Ireland has signed up, fix tight spending limits which would seriously limit tax cuts and increased welfare payments ahead of the election expected next spring.
Mr Kenny said that while Ireland accepts the rules, “we are in a very different position to that we were in four years ago”.
He said: “Hopefully we can continue to reduce the taxation burden so that people next year will continue to see another modest increase in their take-home pay.”
However, the Opposition accused the Government of trying to clear the way for a giveaway budget to “buy” the election.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s tax arrangements with multinational companies are again in the spotlight. Last Wednesday, the EU Commission cleared a new proposal to oblige all 28 member countries to exchange all international company tax “rulings” which were struck over the past decade and still remain in force.
The plan, which all 28 member governments must approve, would involve confidential circulation each quarter of new tax deals done with multinationals.
Within weeks, a verdict on a special EU investigation into Ireland’s tax dealings with the computer giant Apple is expected.
The Brussels executive has also announced the launch in June of a fresh effort to harmonise company taxes across all 28 EU members, as the previous effort has remained blocked since 2011.
After the summit in Brussels, Mr Kenny said he was confident Ireland’s deals with multinationals can stand up to scrutiny.
