Sir, – I read with great interest Prof James Stuart's (TCD) findings that, based on his academic research, the corporation tax paid by US multinational companies based in Ireland is at about 2.2 per cent of their profits (Business, February 11th).
I also note Minister for Finance Michael Noonan’s rejection of these calculations, claiming the rate is actually close to the standard tax rate of 12.5 per cent, which I would guess is also backed up by academic research.
What figure would the hundreds of academically highly trained and qualified academics on the State’s payroll working in business faculties in third-level institutions all over the country come up with? Something in-between perhaps?
If such a fundamental issue of national economics cannot be adequately resolved by the disciplines that make up business studies one wonders, are these sciences at all? It reminds me of a colleague who famously remarked: “business studies is an oxymoron”. – Yours, etc,
JOACHIM FISCHER,
Ballina,
Co Tipperary.