Ireland Sees $2.4 Billion Hit From a 4-Letter Word
A global crackdown on low-tax countries, known as BEPS, is a challenge Dublin should accept.
What will Dublin’s post-pandemic future look like?
Photographer: David Soanes Photography/Moment RFPressure has been mounting on Ireland’s low-tax, high-tech economic model for some time. The country’s 12.5% corporate-tax rate — one of the 20 lowest in the world — has enraged allies in the European Union and beyond, who see Dublin as sucking profits away from other countries while becoming increasingly dependent on powerful firms like Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Apple Inc. for jobs and investment.
It looks like Covid-19 is tipping the scales toward action. President Joe Biden’s administration has signaled it’s giving more support to an OECD-led crackdown on tax loopholes in the world economy — called BEPS for domestic tax base erosion and profit shifting — reversing Donald Trump’s hostility to the initiative and echoing a trend away from competitive corporate tax slashing. It’s a step in the right direction, even if challenges remain.