NEW MINISTER for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has pointed to a statement by British prime minister Gordon Brown that Ireland’s low corporation tax regime would remain and Britain would continue to oppose any EU tax proposal as the final proof that the Lisbon Treaty fully protects our low-tax policies.
“The claim that Ireland’s low corporation tax was about to be ended was raised not because of anything in the treaty, but because those making the claim knew it would cause widespread concern,” he added.
“Prime Minister Brown’s statement follows on from a long series of others from experts, governments and EU leaders confirming absolutely nothing in the treaty in any way directly or indirectly compromises our tax policies,” the Minister said.
Mr Martin said the independent Referendum Commission, headed by a High Court judge, recently said that it had studied the treaty in detail and found nothing in it to challenge our tax veto.
“The tax scare has been found to have not the slightest element of truth.
“With five weeks left to polling day, the time has come for the debate to move on to the substance of a treaty which aims to reform the workings of the union to help it become more efficient as it faces modern challenges such as globalisation.
“The question we need to debate is whether we should continue as a Euro positive or move to a completely different stance, not issues introduced with the intention of undermining a constructive debate,” added Mr Martin.
