http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYhARhLx7kM
YouTube: Hugh O’Connell
TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY has said that the G8′s declaration that it will “fight the scourge of tax evasion” is something that Ireland can sign up to and has defended the country’s low corporation tax rate in discussions with world leaders.
Kenny spoke to the media following a working lunch meeting with members of the G8 this afternoon and welcomed the publication of the Lough Erne Declaration on tax evasion saying that while Ireland was not a member of the grouping it had “no problem in signing up” for the recommendations.
The ten-point document puts forward new measures to clamp down on money launderers, illegal tax evaders and those who avoid corporate tax.
The document states that “countries should change rules that let companies shift their profits across borders to avoid taxes, and multinationals should report to tax authorities what tax they pay where”.
Ireland’s tax regime has come in for scrutiny in recent months after revelations about the low level of tax paid by multinationals like Apple who use Irish tax rules to avoid paying more tax on profits in the US.
Asked specifically about this measure the Taoiseach said the document “is something that Ireland can sign up to” and later said that Ireland had “no problem” signing up to the measures contained in the document.
“Ireland will participate in the work and the consideration of what is the best thing to do here to deal with tax evasion, to deal with tax fraud and to deal with transparency,” Kenny said.
The Taoiseach also said that the issue of Ireland’s 12.5 per cent corporation tax rate did not come up during the working lunch but had been “referred to in the G8 itself” and he was able to “account for Ireland’s tax position”.
He said: “Quite a number of leaders were very clear to say that just because a tax rate is pitched at a particular level doesn’t mean anything other than that.”
You can watch more from the Taoiseach in the video above (Apologies for the poor sound quality towards the end of the clip).
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