Ireland to close corporate tax loophole used by Google and others

[babylonsister]

Ireland to close corporate tax loophole used by Google and others
I
Technology giants including Apple and Microsoft have been taking advantage of Irish corporate tax laws.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Paresh Dave contact the reporters


Bowing to pressure from U.S. and European officials, Ireland will phase out a notorious loophole that helps multinational corporations legally dodge billions of dollars in taxes in their homelands.

A tax maneuver known as the Double Irish has allowed major U.S. technology companies such as Google Inc. to funnel income through subsidiaries in Ireland to slash their tax bills at home.

The decision to close that loophole won't affect Ireland's low corporate tax rate or other special tax breaks that have lured the likes of tech giants Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Oracle, all of which have set up Irish subsidiaries to help them shelter foreign profits from U.S. taxes.

The elimination of the Double Irish, though, marks a concession to the U.S. and European nations that have been trying to crack down on corporate efforts to move profits and even their headquarters to countries with low tax rates or special tax breaks.

Ireland has offered up this sacrificial lamb in the hopes of preserving what's most important to them in the long term, which is their low corporate tax rate. - Edward Kleinbard, a USC law professor and tax policy expert

U.S. companies hold about $2 trillion in cash offshore. Apple said it is holding $138 billion in foreign subsidiaries, much of it in Ireland.

more...

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ireland-tax-haven-20141015-story.html

[SoCalNative]

1. The consequences of this

is simply for the corporations to eliminate positions here and put more bodies in their offices overseas, servicing clients in those territories from abroad rather than at home.