Noonan explains Ireland’s stance on CCCTB, code of conduct

Michael Noonan, Ireland’s Finance Minister, underlined Ireland’s position on key international tax issues that were scheduled for discussion at a meeting of the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), reports Tax News.

Noonan was addressing the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, and Reform on December 1, 2015, in advance of the ECOFIN meeting scheduled for December 8 in Brussels.

Noonan said that, at the meeting, ministers will be provided with an update by the Luxembourg Presidency on the current state of play on the proposed re-launch of its Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) project. He added that the recent EU Working Party meetings focused on identifying outcomes of the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project where there could be overlap with some of the “international aspects” of the proposed CCCTB.

“Ireland is engaging constructively in these matters while holding a firm line that matters of direct taxation remain a member state competence; and that unanimity in tax matters is maintained,” Noonan said.

With regard to the future work of the EU Code of Conduct Group on business taxation, Noonan said that “some member states want to extend the mandate of the Code, but Ireland believes that much has been achieved using the existing mandate and that the work of the Code should continue to focus on preferential regimes.”

Noonan added: “There has also been some discussion about introducing minimum effective tax rates as a way of addressing concerns about BEPS, but Ireland believes these issues are best addressed through the implementation of the BEPS reports, which contain internationally agreed standards to reform the global taxation environment.”