Sir, – The analysis by Colm Keena, Public Affairs Correspondent, in relation to the tax relief known as the special assignee relief programme (Business supplement, April 23rd) perhaps overlooks some relevant facts.
The formulation of tax policy and the legislation which underpins it is not done, as Mr Keena suggests, by governments operating nationally. Formal structures, such as the OECD Forum on Tax Administration, exist to ensure that policy-makers and tax administrations sing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to dealing with the multinational sector. There is also extensive informal contact between governments on tax policy issues of mutual concern. There are very few areas of tax legislation in any jurisdiction which have not been borrowed, either in whole or in part, from laws and concepts in other countries. Policymakers tend not to reinvent the wheel.
Almost all jurisdictions go outside of their finance departments to a greater or lesser extent for policy advice and assistance in formulating legislation. In Sweden and Germany for example, there is a tradition of academic input in the formulation of tax policy. A recent study by the University of Oxford Centre for Business Taxation found that in many countries, draft tax legislation is offered either privately, as in Germany, or publicly, as in the UK, for expert comment prior to enactment.
It is up to the relevant government to determine whether the comments and representations they receive contribute to the national interest, or are merely self-serving.
All pre-Budget submissions by the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies-Ireland mentioned in Mr Keena’s article are published at the time of their submission on our website. – Yours, etc,