Ireland to Alter Company Tax Laws After Apple Controversy

Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan promised to amend the country’s corporate tax laws, trying to calm a controversy over how U.S. companies use the nation to lower their tax bills.

“I will be bringing forward a change to ensure that Irish registered companies cannot be ‘stateless’ in terms of their place of tax residency,” Noonan said in Dublin as part of the 2014 budget Tuesday. “Ireland wants to be part of the solution to this global tax challenge, not part of the problem.”

U.S. senators John McCain and Carl Levin in hearings in March labeled Ireland a tax havenApple reduced its tax bill by setting up a unit in Cork, which didn’t declare tax residency in Ireland because it’s neither managed nor controlled in the country, according to Senate hearings. As the unit is incorporated in Ireland, it’s not a U.S. tax resident. Read more...