If Oscar Wilde were to comment on the evolving taxation of multinationals in Ireland in recent years, he would probably say that failing to close one loophole may be regarded as a misfortune; failing to close two looks like carelessness. Yet my reporting over the past week has shown that this is exactly what happened. As detailed on Tuesday, then Minister for Finance Michael Noonan passed a reform in 2014 forcing Irish-registered companies to be tax-resident in Ireland, apparently ending the double Irish tax scheme whereby Irish intermediary holding companies of countless multinationals were resident nowhere or in zero-tax offshore…

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