Sir, – I refer to the article by Colm Keena headed "Goodman company owner paid little tax on €52m profit" in The Irish Times of April 24th.
The article was misleading and damaging to the group as it did not give a fair reflection of the taxes paid. The group, which is headquartered in Ireland and has successful operating plants in Ireland, UK, Poland, Holland, Denmark, Austria and Spain, pays substantial millions in corporation taxes on the profits earned and is tax compliant in all jurisdictions in which it operates.
The article, which concerned part of the financing structure of the overall group, implied a tax rate for the entire group by reference to the rate of tax paid by selective holding/financing companies within the overall structure. For the accounting year ended March 31st, 2014, the effective rate of corporation tax for the entire group was in excess of the Irish corporate tax rate. – Yours, etc,
LJ GOODMAN,
Executive Chairman,
ABP Food Group,
Ardee,
Co Louth.