The president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, Eoin O'Driscoll, has called on all political parties to put the retention of Ireland's 12.5% corporation tax rate at the heart of their policies.
He told the chamber's annual Thanksgiving lunch that investors needed certainty on the issue. 'Any suggestion that our rate of corporation tax may be coming under threat internally, not to mind at EU level, will only serve to undermine those who are working to attract further investment in the country,' he said.
His defence of the tax rate follows recent reported concerns in the US about the tax arrangements made by some US multinationals.
Mr O'Driscoll said recent reports in the media 'misrepresented the true situation' and were potentially damaging to Ireland's reputation as a preferred location for foreign direct investment.
He said Ireland had a strong network of tax treaties with all its major trading partners, and operated a standard rate of corporation tax that applied to all companies, domestic or foreign, and to all traded activities in Ireland.
At the same event, Finance Minister Brian Cowen said the current tax regime stimulated investment and maximised revenue to the Exchequer. He said any changes could have far-reaching consequences.
