Full coverage: Paschal Donohoe

The US Treasury Secretary visited Dublin on Monday as her country entered the final stretch of a fraught congressional budget debate. Upcoming American legislation implementing the OECD-led global tax agreement is the piece of the puzzle with the most direct impact on multinationals operating in Ireland.

Ireland is signing up to a global agreement that no large multinational should pay less than 15% in corporation tax anywhere. The structures used by firms here show that the calculation of the exact profit taxable at this rate matters a lot more than the headline figure.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, his European Commission counterpart Paolo Gentiloni and Ireland's accountancy bodies agree on one thing: the future of multinational taxation has yet to be decided in Washington. The worst-case scenario for Ireland would be to sign up to the latest OECD proposals, only to see them thwarted by partisan strife in the US.

As the Irish government invites the business community to take part in the debate on multinational tax reform, we ask Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and OECD tax chief Pascal Saint-Amans what is coming next.

Ed Brophy has served as chief of staff to a tánaiste and chief advisor to a finance minister. Having just stepped away from politics, he reflects on the intersection of power and policy, and the crises that defined the decade: the bailout, Brexit and Covid.

Since Tuesday, we have heard from the European Commission on its corporate taxation plans for the next three years, Washington has laid down its cards for OECD-led talks on the issue, a visiting French minister and US multinationals have chimed in, and Paschal Donohoe spoke on the issue not once but twice. So, what have we learned?

Faced with opposition questions on the latest tax-free profits reported by some debt vehicles, the finance minister defended the principle of securitisation. The real issues, however, are how useful it actually is, and how much of a tax advantage it enjoys.

Paschal Donohoe is a chief architect of the July stimulus package. In an in-depth interview, the finance minister talks about the philosophy behind the package, the challenges facing Irish business and the societal impact of Covid-19.

The Irish economy is booming, and unemployment has flatlined. Yet, Fine Gael is getting little electoral credit for its stewardship of the economy. In his pre-election interview, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe defends his record and critiques the economic plans of the other parties.

Changes in last year’s budget meant that Henderson Park faced an unforeseen €65m tax hit on its €1.34bn acquisition of Green Reit. The London firm did not take it lying down.