MINISTER OF State for European Affairs Dick Roche will tell members of the French senate and national assembly next week that attacks on Ireland’s corporate tax regime were “inappropriate”.
This month French president Nicolas Sarkozy said Ireland should not benefit from EU financial aid while maintaining its corporate tax rate of 12.5 per cent.
“I deeply respect our Irish friends’ independence and we have done everything to help them. But they cannot continue to say ‘come and help us’ while keeping a tax on company profits that is half ,” Mr Sarkozy said during a speech in Toulouse.
Opposition figures have accused the Government of failing to adequately respond to the comments.
Mr Roche will outline Government measures to tackle the economic crisis when he addresses the European affairs committee of the French senate, which recently produced a report on the Irish economy. He is also due to address a joint meeting of the European and foreign affairs committees of the national assembly.
Mr Roche told the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs yesterday that he would defend Ireland’s corporate tax rate in Paris next week, arguing that foreign direct investment was “critical” to the country’s recovery.
“I will be making it very clear that comments like those recently made by President Sarkozy are neither helpful nor appropriate,” Mr Roche said afterwards. “If the French believe that this is such an important issue there is nothing stopping them from adjusting their own corporate tax rate.
“Ireland is not the only EU state that sees tax sovereignty as a key issue – this view is shared by the majority.”