Madam, – I resent the attack by Polly Toynbee (Opinion, November 24th) on Ireland’s right to determine its own taxation levels. Ireland’s low corporation tax has been instrumental in attracting many large employers which could easily have opted for a third world country and taken advantage of slave labour wages instead. Would Ms Toynbee be happy then? If Ireland’s low corporation tax rate is such a problem for Britain and the rest of Europe, let them reduce their excessive tax levels to a more attractive rate. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The political consensus between Fianna Fáil and the Greens in relation to the retention of corporation tax at 12.5 per cent clearly shows how morally bankrupt this discredited Government is. As Polly Toynbee (Opinion, November 24th) points out, Ireland is indeed a tax haven for large companies who avail of our generous tax laws to save countless millions.
For the Government to contend that such companies will not be attracted to invest in Ireland, or may even leave the State, on the basis of increasing this tax by even a few percentage points is absurd.
A modest 5 per cent increase would still leave the Irish tax rate much lower than that of our European neighbours. Instead, the minimum wage is reduced by 11.5 per cent. Where is the fairness in that? – Yours, etc,