Sinn Féin call for full details of tax reforms plans made under EU Recovery Fund plan

Sinn Féin MEP Chris MacManus and Public Expenditure Spokesperson Mairéad Farrell TD have called for the government to list all the tax reform commitments it has given the EU to unlock access to the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Fund. The EU has confirmed that the Irish Government requested some of their submission be kept secret.

Farrell said:

”It has been confirmed to Sinn Féin that ‘Ireland requested the Commission to redact certain confidential or sensitive information from its Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) as officially submitted on 28 May 2021”. 

“These plans have to show how each country will address the EU’s so-called Country Specific Recommendations, which in Ireland’s case include specific issues around tax policy.  This week I called on the Minister to fully disclose all the commitments made.”

MEP MacManus said:

“The published summary of Ireland’s plan includes only a vague reference to commitments made to aggressive tax avoidance. Sinn Féin have been critical of many of the government’s tax policies including on royalties and intangible assets but it is important that there is full transparency on what commitments the government have or not made in this area. Tax policy is made in the Oireachtas and should not be subject to any secret deals with Brussels.”

“In a reply to me earlier this year the Commission confirmed that the Country Specific Recommendation must be addressed in all national recovery plans. We need to know how the Irish Government addressed these issues.”

MacManus concluded, “The full details of Ireland’s submission must be published without delay.” ENDS