Ireland may not agree to global minimum tax, minister says

By Cordia Scott Hennaman, MNE Tax

There may not be agreement among all G20 nations on a global minimum corporate tax, according to Ireland’s Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe, who noted that “legitimate tax competition does have a role to play.”

Donohoe expressed his reservations on behalf of Ireland during a Bloomberg TV interview on April 7.

“I believe we’re entering into a period of change that may well include a debate and there may be a decision on minimum effective tax rates across the world, but we do need to be conscious that it’s not just very big economies that have a need and a desire to be competitive and to grow their economies,” he said, emphasizing that smaller economies should have a role in the debate, as well.

A global minimum corporate tax is Pillar Two of the OECD’s proposals, recently backed by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. 

“I think it’s also important to look at what countries’ effective tax rates are,” he said. “Lots of different economies will be making the case now of where the landing zone should be on overall tax policy. . . . Small and medium-sized economies have a role in that debate, as well.”

Ireland has a 12.5 percent corporate tax rate, one of the lowest in the European Union. European OECD countries currently levy a corporate income tax rate of 21.9 percent, on average, according to the Tax Foundation’s 2020 statistics. This is below the worldwide average which, measured across 176 jurisdictions, was 24.2 percent in 2019, the Tax Foundation said.

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Cordia Scott Hennaman

Associate Editor at MNE Tax

Cordia Scott Hennaman is Associate Editor of MNE Tax. She has more than 15 years of experience in the tax journalism industry. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

@CordiaHennaman

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