DUBLIN: Ireland’s opposition to a proposed overhaul of EU tax rules has come under further pressure after Brussels accused member states of failing to act on tax avoidance by multinationals and said it wanted to fast-track its reforms.
Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, blamed the inability of countries to agree on a common set of corporate rules for the “aggressive” tax planning policies of some companies.
He said a tax avoidance scandal exposed in the Paradise Papers last week could have been avoided had member states adopted the commission’s proposals, including a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) which Ireland strongly opposes.