The social media giant re-invested half of the profits distributed by its Dublin advertising business last year. Ireland itself is the main destination of this splurge on cloud infrastructure.
Using a green Bermuda corporate structure, the US group’s lucrative EMC cloud division is continuing to shift $8.6 billion and counting in profits from sales booked in Cork to the zero-tax Caribbean jurisdiction.
Alphabet group companies in Dublin have paid nearly €10bn in dividends to their US parents in the past two years. Much like the hiring spree that preceded them, they were part of “a different economic reality”.
Ireland’s largest nursing homes group suffered from the scandal that nearly broke its French multinational parent last year, but a bail-out agreed in Paris is beginning to trickle down into this country.
The short term woes of pharma companies mask a sector that is performing well, and performing well for Ireland.
The advocate general’s opinion shows that the EU court will either conclude that Ireland never did anything wrong in the old double Irish days, or vindicate its shift towards the even more lucrative green jersey scheme.
Is the corporation tax surge over? The short answer is no. What is over is the era of ever-expanding tax takes. We are dependent on a small number of firms doing very well. Their granular success is ours: When they have a down quarter, so do we.
Why is the energy drinks global giant expanding its Co Kildare factory at a time of high inflation and rising corporation tax rates? The answer lies in the fine print governing tax deductibles.
The Department of Finance’s reference to weak pharmaceutical exports identifies the US pharma multinational as the latest contributor to the fall in corporation tax receipts below last year’s level for the first 10 months of 2023.
Two years ago, the popular homeware and gifts marketplace branched into fashion with a $1.6bn UK acquisition. The Dublin holding company conducting the deal has now wiped 90% off its value.
© 2025 Currency Media Limited
