AmCham Ireland Welcomes Finance Bill

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

13 February 2008

The American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland has welcomed the provisions of the recent Irish Finance Bill, observing that the legislation demonstrates the flexibility of the Irish tax regime and its ability to respond to market changes.

"It serves as a timely reminder that EU proposals to introduce a common corporate tax base (CCCTB) would greatly diminish this responsiveness to the detriment of EU competitiveness," stated Pat Wall, Chair of the Chamber's Taxation Group.

"Industry should take every opportunity to rebut the claim by pro-CCCTB lobbyists that a common EU tax base would be good for business," he added.

Wall welcomed the extension of the 12.5% tax to Irish Holding Companies, which the Chamber had called for in its pre-budget submission. "This puts Ireland in a strong position to compete as a holding company location," he noted.

The Chamber also welcomed improvements to the employee share ownership rules as "a move in the right direction".

"The Chamber believes that the personal tax regime needs to be modified to encourage up-skilling and to attract the brightest and the best. We believe the government should review the case for tax incentives that would attract highly skilled workers to Ireland and that would encourage employees to enhance their technical skills," Wall stated.

"Overall the measures introduced in the Finance Bill are good for business and will help create a supportive environment for enterprise in Ireland", he added.

The United States is one of the largest foreign investors in the Irish economy, and according to AmCham, over 100,000 people are directly employed in over 590 US firms in Ireland, accounting for 70% of all government supported employment. Indirect employment in sub-supply and community industry and services has been estimated at over 225,000.

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