IRELAND MUST NOT BE A PAWN IN EU’S BATTLE WITH USA – PENROSE

This week the Dáil debated the implications of the European Commission’s decision on the tax affairs of Apple and their relationship with the Irish Government

Local Labour Party Willie Penrose has criticised the decision by the European Commission. “. It is no wonder people continually question how the EU operates and feel detachment from it. This is the type of action that brings that type of cynicism to the fore.

“The Labour Party has several proposals to promote tax justice. One proposal is to get the agreement of the House to the principle that every profitable company should pay a real and reasonable level of tax. Our 12.5% rate has brought jobs and investment to Ireland and is a cornerstone of our industrial policy to date. It clearly should remain in place. It is sacrosanct and should be protected. It has drawn some jealous eyes from other places. I am very attached to the effective tax rate which is extremely important. There have been too many avenues, ways, options, allowances and incentives to reduce the nominal tax rate to a small percentage. The Labour Party believes that the effective tax rate would become the normal tax rate. Initially it should be around 6.2%. That would be desirable and would certainly see a significant increase in the tax collected.