Ireland’s finance minister recently noticed that aggressive tax planning by the multinational companies has been criticized by governments everywhere and has influenced the reputation of many countries. Several countries like Ireland, Netherlands and Luxembourg with low corporate tax and other tax incentives have become a second residence for multinationals such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and many more to avoid billions of dollars in taxes. This refers not only to low corporate tax but also, in case with Ireland specifically, to make royalty payments for intellectual property to a separate Irish-registered subsidiary. The subsidiary that is being incorporated, typically has its home in a country that has no corporate income tax. Google can be taken as an example – it is an Ireland-based subsidiary generating revenue from online advertising, paying it in royalties to a separate Google wing registered in Ireland, all while being a resident in corporate tax free Bermuda. Schemes like this are widely criticized and are being investigated by the European Commission. The government of Ireland is planning to get rid of tax breaks like this and offer programs that will allow companies based in the country to apply for a lower tax rate.
