Ireland Is Rich. That Doesn’t Mean It’s Happy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/27/opinion/ireland-election-simon-harris.html
Fintan O’Toole:
For U.S. multinationals looking for a base in the European Union, Ireland’s low corporate tax rate, highly educated work force and stable politics, combined with the familiarity of the English language, a common law system and close historical and cultural ties, have exerted a magnetic attraction.
Think of an American multinational — Apple, Pfizer, Meta, Microsoft, Intel, Boston Scientific — and the chances are that it is one of the thousand or so U.S. companies with an Irish operation. These companies spend more than $40 billion a year in a country with a population of just over five million. To put that in context, the stock of U.S. foreign direct investment in Ireland in 2022 stood at $574 billion, roughly triple the total in China and India put together.
As well as paying a lot of wages, these companies give the Irish treasury a windfall of corporate taxes — the full-year total could reach a new high of about 30 billion euros this year. With this much money coming in, the government has been able to live every politician’s dream: cutting income taxes while increasing public spending and reducing debt.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/27/opinion/ireland-election-simon-harris.html
Fintan O’Toole:
For U.S. multinationals looking for a base in the European Union, Ireland’s low corporate tax rate, highly educated work force and stable politics, combined with the familiarity of the English language, a common law system and close historical and cultural ties, have exerted a magnetic attraction.
Think of an American multinational — Apple, Pfizer, Meta, Microsoft, Intel, Boston Scientific — and the chances are that it is one of the thousand or so U.S. companies with an Irish operation. These companies spend more than $40 billion a year in a country with a population of just over five million. To put that in context, the stock of U.S. foreign direct investment in Ireland in 2022 stood at $574 billion, roughly triple the total in China and India put together.
As well as paying a lot of wages, these companies give the Irish treasury a windfall of corporate taxes — the full-year total could reach a new high of about 30 billion euros this year. With this much money coming in, the government has been able to live every politician’s dream: cutting income taxes while increasing public spending and reducing debt.
The Irish Government Is Unbelievably Rich. It’s Largely Thanks to Uncle Sam.
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/the-irish-government-is-unbelievably-rich-its-largely-thanks-to-uncle-sam-92494310
A clampdown on global corporate tax dodging turned Ireland into the nouveau riche man of Europe.
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/the-irish-government-is-unbelievably-rich-its-largely-thanks-to-uncle-sam-92494310
A clampdown on global corporate tax dodging turned Ireland into the nouveau riche man of Europe.
Ireland’s liberal center conceals something darker
https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2024/11/irish-election-irelands-liberal-centre-conceals-something-darker
https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2024/11/irish-election-irelands-liberal-centre-conceals-something-darker