Revenue Chairman Explains Ireland's Position On International Tax Issues At World Tax Conference

by Amanda Banks, Tax-news.com, London

30 May 2001

During a speech on international tax issues at the World Tax Conference in Dublin last week, the Irish Revenue Chairman, Dermot Quigley, declared that Ireland's objective in international taxation discussions on e-commerce will be to ensure that the development of e-commerce in Ireland is not hampered by an over-intrusive regulatory tax system while, at the same time, protecting the tax base. He explained: 'The basic condition is that the same principles that governments apply to taxation of conventional commerce should equally apply to e-commerce, namely neutrality, efficiency, certainty, simplicity and flexibility.'

Mr Quigley commented on the major issues affecting international taxation such as harmful tax competition, EU savings tax, VAT and revenue restructuring in Ireland.

With regard to harmful tax competition, Mr Quigley said that the 12.5 per cent company tax in Ireland is 'entirely in keeping with the EU and OECD codes on harmful tax competition.' And he confirmed that neither the EU nor the OECD have an 'agenda' to harmonise business tax rates.

The proposed EU Savings Tax Directive to combat cross-border tax evasion will, according to Mr Quigley, 'be based primarily on exchange of information about interest payments to the tax authorities of the Member States in which the recipient of the interest is resident.' He added: 'The success of the Directive will depend on the co-operation of key third countries, including Switzerland and the United States.'

Mr Quigley also said that Ireland welcomed the EU Commission's new VAT policy to improve the current system with particular focus on issues emerging from the 'internal market.'

On the issue of revenue restructuring, Mr Quigley declared: 'The new structure will comprise a Large Cases Division, five regional Divisions, a Prosecution Division, revamped Revenue Legislation Services, a Debt Management Division and revamped Head Office function. With the full co-operation of management, staff and trade unions we can transform our organisation, building on successes and learning from our experiences. We'll be working hard to restore full confidence in Revenue inside and out'.

Last week's World Tax Conference, hosted in Dublin by the Institute of Taxation (23 - 27 May), was co-organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation (UK), Taxation Institute of Australia, Canadian Tax Foundation, Asociacion Espanola de Asesores Fiscales, Nederlands Orde van Belastingadviseurs and the Malaysian Taxation Institute. The conference also discussed perspectives on current international tax issues in the context of mobile economics, trade and personal wealth.

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