CORPORATE TAX:PROPOSALS FOR a common corporate tax base have nothing to do with the Lisbon Treaty and a Yes vote helps the Government to challenge such plans, Ibec said yesterday.
The employers' group was responding to Libertas founder Declan Ganley who said a Yes vote would mean an end to Ireland's advantage on low corporate taxation, and that higher taxes could be imposed on goods and services coming out of Ireland.
Libertas kept repeating this allegation "but they know that Lisbon will copperfasten our veto on tax", said Brendan Butler, Ibec's director of European and international affairs.
"Declan is factually incorrect. We've been following this for a lot longer than Declan ever has or ever will be and we know a lot more about it," he added.
Interviewed on RTÉ Radio's This Week programme, Mr Ganley said Ibec was "rolled out to say Yes and be a ventriloquist's dummy for government policy and are not defending business interests on the issue of taxation". He also claimed the Department of Finance was suppressing plans for tax harmonisation until after the referendum.
Such a move would make Ireland less competitive and businesses would relocate to places like France and Germany. He said Ibec was saying exactly the same thing 18 months ago.
Mr Butler said "Ibec receives no government money" and was funded by members. He said proposals for a common consolidated corporate tax base had been around since 2000 and Ibec had tracked them since then. France had been pushing the issue.
"There's nothing to stop Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy sitting down tonight over a glass of wine and agreeing what they want on taxation. We can't control that. They can do what they like. But we can't be forced into tax harmonisation."
Meanwhile, the chairman of Shannon Development, Ireland's only regional development agency, said a No vote would undermine the State's global competitiveness.
"By supporting this treaty we will be supporting Ireland's position as a global economic player and failure to do so will result in this position being eroded and undermined," said John Brassil.