Facilitating firms that sidestep tax

Sir, – Colm Keena is right to address the subject of multinational companies and their tax avoidance measures (Business Opinion…

Sir, – Colm Keena is right to address the subject of multinational companies and their tax avoidance measures (Business Opinion, August 27th). What  a pity that our politicians (on both the right and the left) continue to refuse to tackle this issue, presumably for fear of upsetting the American Chamber of Commerce.

Research from the US has shown that companies with a base in the Republic pay corporation tax at a rate as low as 3 per cent. At a time when our Government is closing nursing homes, cutting hospital beds and entitlements for the poorest sections of our society, is it not time that multinationals were asked to pay their fair share of tax to support a society that continues to generate so many millions of euro in profits for them? – Yours, etc,

PAUL GAVAN,

Castleconnell,

Co Limerick.