Sir, – Tax is the most important, sustainable and predictable source of public finance for almost all countries. If countries are to eradicate poverty and hunger, then they will need to do so by increasing their own public finances – principally through tax revenues. This should be possible.
It is a credit to Ireland’s commitment to its development partners that it is undertaking a review of the way Ireland’s tax system affects developing countries.
Last year's Sweet Nothings report by ActionAid found that since 2007 a single company's exploitation of Ireland's tax treaty with Zambia ensured that it paid "virtually no corporate tax" in Zambia, even though it had generated $123 million in profits from its activity there. In Zambia 45 per cent of children are malnourished and two-thirds of the population live on less than $2 a day.
Tax-funded education, health and nutrition services are suffering from a crippling lack of revenue in Zambia, even though, like Ireland, ordinary people pay their taxes. The losses from this single company could put an extra 48,000 Zambian children in school every year.
We hope that the outcome of the review of the Irish tax system will inform the ongoing review of Ireland’s outdated tax treaty with Zambia – signed in 1971. – Yours, etc,
PAMELA CHISANGA,
ActionAid Zambia,
c/o ActionAid Ireland,
Ivy Exchange,
172 Granby Place,
Parnell Square,
Dublin 1.