Ministers in talks to
reassure key foreign firms on closure of ‘Double Irish’
State agencies and
Government Ministers and officials have launched a co-ordinated campaign of
letters and phone calls to senior executives of foreign multinationals, to
reassure them that Ireland remains a top destination for investment following
the budget.
Minister for Enterprise
Richard Bruton hosted a conference call with officials and executives from up
to 60 US multinationals yesterday afternoon, to discuss some of the measures
that might affect them.
On Tuesday, Martin Shanahan,
the chief executive of the inward investment agency IDA Ireland, also wrote to
about 1,000 companies to explain the State’s budget proposals relating to
foreign direct investment.
The IDA is also preparing
briefing materials on the budget measures for Irish embassies, which are used
by the Government to help sell the country to foreign investors.
Sources suggested to The
Irish Times yesterday that Michael Noonan, the Minister for Finance, also spoke
over the phone directly with certain multinational chief executives to discuss the
budget. It was not possible to confirm this with the Minister’s advisers last
night, however.
Several measures within
Tuesday’s budget will impact directly upon Ireland’s attractiveness as a
foreign investment destination, including the closure of the controversial
“Double Irish” tax avoidance scheme.
Other measures included
fresh incentives to stimulate investment in research and development, tax
incentives for intellectual property and the extension of the Special Assignee
Relief Programme tax breaks for foreign executives who relocate to Ireland.
Mr Bruton’s teleconference
yesterday formed the cornerstone of what one official insisted is a campaign of
“positive engagement” to press home Ireland’s perceived advantages over its
rivals and the new incentives in the budget. It is understood the
teleconference was conducted on an off-the-record basis, and officials would
not be drawn on which companies took part or what was discussed.
It is understood, however,
the companies were all based on the west coast of the US, where most of the
biggest technology giants are located. It would therefore seem likely that as
well as the new incentives in budget, the Double Irish closure would have
cropped up on the call.
Mr Bruton was joined on the
call by Mr Shanahan of the IDA, as well as officials from the departments of
Finance, Justice and the Revenue.
“We had a very positive
engagement,” Mr Bruton told The Irish Times following the call. “I’m even more
confident now than I was 24 hours ago that, with the [budget] measures, we will
increase the attractiveness of our regime.”
More discussions
The Minister is also
scheduled to fly to the US in two weeks for discussions with executives from
east coast firms.
Meanwhile, Mr Shanahan’s
letter to 1,000 IDA clients on Tuesday evening highlighted that the 12.5 per
cent rate of corporation tax is “settled policy and will not change”.
The letter referred to the
closure of the Double Irish: “As the global landscape is evolving, Ireland has
decided to change its corporate residency rules . . . IDA strongly believes
that this will provide a reputations benefit for Ireland and our clients.”
IDA also said its staff in
Europe and the US will contact all of their clients this week to discuss the
budget measures. “We’re now in a position where current investors and potential
investors know what Ireland’s corporation tax regime will look like post-Beps
(base erosion and profit shifting).
