Sinn Féin spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform, Mairéad Farrell TD, has highlighted the need for increased data access and reporting, as part of Ireland’s commitment to the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative.

Dealing with Finance Bill 2020 at the committee stage, Teachta Farrell made a number of recommendations around increased reporting in relation to Ireland’s commitment to the OECD’s BEPS initiative, and highlighted areas of concern where she felt the Finance Bill had weaknesses in this regard. 

BEPS refers to corporate tax planning strategies used by multinationals to “shift” profits from higher-tax jurisdictions to lower-tax jurisdictions, with the OECD’s initiative designed to curb such strategies.

Teachta Farrell said: 

“I welcome many of the provisions in the Finance Bill which are designed to give further scope to the BEPS initiative and attempt to curb aggressive multinational tax avoidance.

“However, I raised concerns around particular measures related to transfer pricing, controlled foreign company legislation and hybrid mismatches, where I felt the legislation would not be completely effective and multinationals could still employ BEPS type strategies.

“At a time when so many people are suffering financially, stock markets continue to boom with many of the world’s largest multinationals recording record profits. It is imperative that multinationals pay their fair share and give back to the societies in which they are operating.”