The Lisbon Treaty will not interfere with national tax policy, the Irish Taxation Institute has said.
“The treaty that will be put to a vote by the Irish people next week does not affect our ability to set our own tax policy,” said Olivia Lynch, president of the institute.
“The treaty now comes with a specific guarantee on taxation,” Ms Lynch added. “This new guarantee is crystal clear in stating that nothing in the Lisbon Treaty makes any change to the EU’s competence with respect to taxation.”
The institute represents 4,000 registered tax consultants across the State.
The issue of Ireland’s tax veto remains one of the contentious issues of the No to Lisbon side.
In a statement, the institute said it had carried out detailed analysis of the treaty before the first Lisbon referendum in respect of its impact on taxation.
It determined that the veto was unaffected by the treaty.
“The specific guarantees obtained by the Irish Government in advance of the second referendum confirm that position,” Ms Lynch said.
