A new report from the OECD shows that Ireland receives more of its corporation tax from foreign multinationals than any other jurisdiction in the world.
Based on data collected as part of its ongoing work to reform how multinationals pay tax on their profits, the OECD calculates that foreign multinationals account for 65% of corporation tax receipts here.
The next highest percentage is in the US at 56%.
The report is based on the aggregated data of 4,000 multinationals headquartered in 26 jurisdictions around the world. The data is anonymised but highlights some global trends.
The percentage of jurisdictions with statutory corporate tax rates of greater than or equal to 30% has been steadily decreasing over the past 20 years.
In 2000 it was equal to 62%. This declined to 31% in 2010 and today stands at 19%.
Ireland's corporation tax rate is 12.5%.
The report also shows there is often a mismatch between the location where multinationals record their profits and where their main business activity takes place.
In a statement, the OECD says today's report highlights the need to continue its work as part of international efforts to 'address the tax challenges arising from digitalisation'.
The so-called Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project at the OECD has been co-ordinating reform of rules on corporate tax.
Last month the US called a "pause" on its cooperation with the project effectively stalling plans to tax digital companies like Google, Facebook and Apple.
The OECD said its new country-by-country data on big multinational companies' tax reporting indicates they tend to book profits in low tax financial hubs rather than where they really do much of their busines.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the data confirmed economists and tax experts long-held suspicions that multinationals were legally exploiting loopholes in international tax rules to park profits in low tax jurisdictions.
Multinationals with group revenues of at least $750m have been required since 2016 to report income, profit and taxes for the countries in which they operate under an under an international push to shed light on the issue led by the OECD.
First insights from the trove of anonymised and aggregated data reveal a "misalignment between the location where profits are reported and the location where economic activities occur", the OECD said.
On average multinationals' operations in investment hubs report 25% of group profits but only 4% of employees and 11% of tangible assets.
The median value of revenue per employee in jurisdictions with no corporate income tax was $1.4m, the report said.
Meanwhile, the same value in places where corporate income is taxed at less than 20% was $240,000 and $370,000 where the tax rate is more than 20%.
The OECD said the findings made it all the more important to complete negotiations among nearly 140 countries on a global minimum corporate tax rate, which are due to be wrapped up this year.
