Home About Us Services Tax Booklet 2011 International Services Useful Links Contact Us                      Be part of Ireland's Smart Economy Advantages of locating in Ireland        Latest Economic Commentary Budget 2012 An Assessment        Starting your own Business? Tax Exemption for Start-Up Companies        Useful Resources: Key Tax Planning Dates for 2012 Tax Planning Tips for 2012                               Ireland – The Ideal Place to Locate        Advantages of locating in Ireland          For many years a significant number of multinationals have chosen to establish operations in Ireland. While many multinationals set up specific function companies, such as finance companies, Intellectual Property (‘IP’) holding companies and treasury companies, others have chosen Ireland as headquarters for their European or EMEA trading activities. With so many different jurisdictions currently offering low tax rates, why is it that so many companies have chose, and continue to choose Ireland? While it is easy to see some of the factors motivating these decisions and which set Ireland apart from other low tax jurisdictions such as:          EU member state for past 37 years English speaking country Highly skilled workforce Large network of international air routes Excellent standard of living for employees posted to Ireland Historic links with the US A developed regulatory regime        Perhaps the key factor which sets Ireland apart as a business location however, is the sophistication of the Irish tax system. The Irish government have sought to promote and foster a knowledge economy and the Irish tax system is geared towards consistently providing the most competitive tax regime for holding companies and trading companies – particularly those operating in the financial, technology, pharmaceutical and services sectors. Ireland can provide companies in these sectors the opportunity to significantly reduce their tax costs.               Some of the key tax benefits are:        Standard corporation tax rate of 12.5%, which has been consistently confirmed by the government as being a key pillar of its tax strategy        Tax relief on the acquisition and development of IP        Significant tax credits available for R&D expenditure        No capital duty on incorporation        Exemption from exit charges on changing company residence to an EU/Treaty country        Exemption for profits on the disposal of shares in a subsidiary company        Extensive tax treaty network which is constantly expanding        Exemptions from withholding taxes to EU and treaty countries        Remittance basis of taxation available for foreign employees transferred to Ireland and specific refund relief available for high earners.        While some ‘offshore’ jurisdictions may offer a tax free location, these are of little benefit for most multinational companies as governments introduce new rules to nullify the benefits of these ‘tax havens’. Ireland instead offers a legitimate alternative to ‘tax havens’ by providing an onshore jurisdiction with a low tax rate, and the human and technical resources required to be able to provide the necessary economic substance. Byrne & McCall regularly advises overseas clients on these issues.               If you require more information in relation to this matter please email or call us on +353 1 6120580 today.                                                          Byrne & McCall, Core B, Block 71, The Plaza, Park West, Dublin 12, Ireland   Tel: +353-1-6120580   Fax:+353-1- 6205625   Email: info@byrnemccall.ie Privacy Policy          powered by go2web