Irish Commissioner Fights EU Tax Harmonization

The former finance minister of Ireland, Charlie McCreevy, is now an EU commissioner. To his credit, he does not appear to have sipped the Kool-Aid in Brussels.

While most EU commissioners push for centralization and tax harmonization, McCreevy is making waves by denouncing the tax harmonization schemes of a fellow commissioner. The Sunday Business Post reports:

Ireland’s European Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, has launched a strong attack on the European Commission’s efforts to introduce a common business tax base across Europe. McCreevy has warned of the danger of a ‘‘bully-boys’ charter’’ which would favour large states over smaller members like Ireland.

...McCreevy said the tax harmonisation issue was being ‘‘aggressively pushed forward by some in Europe’’. ...Referring repeatedly to ‘‘tax harmonisation forces’’, McCreevy warned that, were they successful, it would threaten inward investment to the EU, undermine competitiveness and discriminate against smaller EU states.

Despite outright opposition from a number of member states, including Ireland, the commission has continued to lay the groundwork for the adoption of a common tax base, which is feared by many to be a prelude to the harmonisation of tax rates across Europe. Such a move would inevitably lead to considerably higher tax rates in Ireland, which has among the lowest corporate and personal tax rates in Europe. Brussels sources say there is increasing resentment about the success of Ireland’s low-tax strategy — which is seen by many as ‘‘unfair tax competition’’.