Ireland has emphatically rejected a Franco-German proposal for a single corporate tax base across the EU that might include a minimum tax rate.
The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said in a statement he believed EU tax policy "ought to be determined democratically by individual member states in the light of their individual policy priorities".
"This issue of tax policy determination is one which cuts to the very heart of national sovereignty," he added.
"We will resist any attempts, from whatever source, which would dilute our sovereignty in relation to this issue which is of such national importance."
France and Germany made their proposal in a letter to the European Commission dated May 26th.
They urged the commission to harmonise the way firms calculate their corporate tax bills and "if possible" propose a minimum tax rate.
It said such a rate would "in no way stand in the way of healthy competition between member states".
Corporate tax rates among the new EU members range from zero in Estonia to 15 per cent in Lithuania and Cyprus, 19 per cent in Poland, and 35 per cent in Malta. By comparison, rates are around 40 per cent in Germany and 35 per cent in France.