Full coverage: OECD

The OECD wants Ireland to screen public procurement for collusion between bidders. Bring on artificial intelligence, says Paschal Donohoe.

The decision seems to go against recommendations by the OECD for Ireland to further develop its incubator industry – not reduce it.

Ireland has spent the last 10 years fighting Europe on Apple while simultaneously rehabbing its reputation and helping rewrite global tax rules. It was a high-stakes approach, but one that has paid off handsomely.

Enacted in 2015, the KDB provided tax breaks for companies doing research and development in Ireland. However, its use has been limited, and international tax changes mean it is no longer as attractive as it once was. The end could be in sight.

After Budget 2024, multinationals will no longer have access to a 12.5% rate in Ireland. There is still a lot more they can do to locate profits here at a tax advantage, however, and the unofficial expectation for the Exchequer is: more money.

Intense discussions are continuing to decide how international principles agreed at OECD-sponsored tax negotiations will be implemented, and the devil is in the detail.

By tinkering with corporation tax, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is giving assurances that Ireland is ready for the 15 per cent minimum rate. There may be deeper reforms on the table, but they will be for his successor to lead to fruition.

Pascal Saint-Amans’s career as OECD tax director culminated one year ago when he secured a global agreement to overhaul corporation tax. As he leaves this position, he assesses the work remaining to be done.

The Minister for Finance heads to an EU meeting in Prague hopeful of a 15% corporation tax directive, but the full OECD agreement is far from ready for implementation.

Instead of playing along the rules agreed by 137 countries to raise corporation tax to a global minimum, Democratic Senators have selected the bits that favour narrow American interests – and put international co-operation at risk.