Multinational companies use tax treaties with poor countries to dodge taxes!
Tax treaties are deals that carve up taxing rights between two countries.
Ireland has made some big steps to improve tax deals with developing countries – working with Zambia and Pakistan to renegotiate their treaties. This is good news – closing loopholes mean companies will pay more tax, which can be used to fund public services.
Even with these positive steps, Ireland’s tax treaties with developing countries remain some of the most restrictive in the world, according to ActionAid Ireland’s Tax Treaties dataset.
Ireland’s commitment to supporting development aid is world-renowned, but the government can do more to support development, by signing fair tax treaties to developing countries.
Take action today and tell Minister Noonan you want fair tax deals for developing countries.
Dear Minister Noonan
Tax is powerful. It funds schools and hospitals everywhere. We all pay tax, but right now, big companies aren’t paying as much as they should in developing countries. This takes billions of dollars away from vital public services every year and the world’s poorest people are suffering as a result.
A big part of this problem is tax treaties. ActionAid’s Mistreated report has shown how these deals are restricting lower and lower-middle income countries tax rights and reducing the amount of tax companies’ pay.
Ireland has made strong progress in renegotiating its tax treaties with Zambia and Pakistan, but we’re not doing well enough.
Ireland’s leadership in international development is world-renowned. Now it’s time to ensure our tax treaties with lower income and lower middle income countries are protecting poorer countries tax rights and ability to develop.
We urgently call on you to:
- Adopt the UN Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries (the UN model) as the minimum standard, from which negotiations can begin.
- Include strong and effective anti-abuse clauses in all double taxation treaties.
- Introduce greater transparency by subjecting treaty negotiation, ratification and impact assessments to far greater public scrutiny.
- Review tax treaties across government departments to ensure objectives and potential impacts are in line with One World, One Future and Ireland’s policy coherence for development framework.
- Introduce greater transparency through public Country by Country Reporting.
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ActionAid Ireland’s Tax Power campaign is funded by the European Union through Development Education and Awareness Raising funding, April 2015 to March 2017.