Government must act quickly to cut down on tax avoidance to minimise reputational damage
The Green Party said today that the Government must act quickly to clamp down on tax avoidance to minimise the reputational damage of being labelled one of the world’s worst tax havens.
Green Party Spokesperson for Finance, Councillor Mark Dearey, was reacting to the publication of an Oxfam research report which puts Ireland sixth in a list of 15 countries which, it says, are helping big business to cheat countries and their citizens out of billions of euro in tax every year.
He said: “Every year in Europe, tax avoidance costs EU governments over one trillion euro in lost revenues. The world is starting to wake up to the false economies tax havens and tax avoidance schemes produce and the international community is, rightly, starting to clamp down on them. The Irish Government must play its part by ensuring the tax avoidance schemes employed here are no longer tolerated. We need real transparency in where profits are made and where that corresponding tax is paid.
“By acting quickly to close down the loopholes being used to dodge tax, the Government would send an important message that Ireland is not the tax haven that we are accused of being. We understand that the Government can’t do it all by itself, but we need to push for closer cooperation at an EU and OECD level to end these dodgy tax practices.
“The Green Party are calling for the Oireachtas Finance Committee to examine the tax code and identify areas that are being exploited. Once identified, the Government can work with our international partners to ensure these loopholes are closed.”