Two weeks ago I wrote about the tax-linked Spanish pharma Grifols move to Ireland (see link here) at the time when all Irish media was gushing on about jobs and investment, forgetting - conveniently and patently - the pesky issue of Why did a Spanish company decided all of a sudden to relocate major operations and international billing into Ireland?
Well, good to know that with a good week-and-a-half delay, the Irish Times woke up to the problem, covering it (albeit with usual 'diplomatic' caveats) here: http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/grifols-move-to-ireland-hits-tax-and-political-buttons-1.2415243.
One important aspect indirectly highlighted by the Irish Times article on the matter is the problem we are having with 'Brand Ireland' - the brand that is now visible across Europe and the U.S., as well as Australia and Canada as being linked with 'beggar thy neighbour' economics.
This strategy for growth is behind our 'stellar out-performance' on fiscal side, as another Irish Times article highlighted here: http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/tax-surge-from-multinationals-not-a-one-off-1.2416002. Stay tuned, as I will be covering the matter of 'sustainability' of our revenue and growth side in light of tax inversions and tax-fuelled FDI inflows later this month.
Note: about that 'beggar thy neighbour' economic development model: here is a note highlighting effects of Irish tax policies on the UK current account: http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKKCN0SS00320151103?irpc=932. I disagree with the view that the distortion of national accounts aggregates has little effect on the real economy in the UK. In my opinion, it erodes tax base in the UK and transfers the benefits of MNCs activity accruing to Ireland into cost to British taxpayers. Someone pays for our gains, because tax is a zero-sum, non-value-additive activity.
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