GERMANY has rejected an EU plan for the same tax reforms Ireland thought would affect its corporate tax earnings, according to a report in the Sunday Business Post (print edition).

Pat Leahy reports that the German government’s decision is a serious block to the introduction of the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB). Ireland fears its introduction would herald tax harmonisation across the bloc, cutting the country’s competitive corporate tax rate.

In the Irish Examiner on 20 May, Ann Cahill cited Brussels sources as saying the government was looking at options for making changes to its corporate tax system as a form of compromise. They said one of the options being considered was to change Ireland’s corporate tax base.

Last weekend, a report by John Drennan in the Sunday Independent suggested that some Irish officials were considering cutting Ireland’s corporate tax rate from 12.5 per cent to as low as 7.5 per cent.

The suggestion was made as a tough stance reaction to continued pressure from France for Ireland to compromise on its low tax rate in return for more favourable interest rates on its bailout loan agreement.

Read more about Germany’s decision in the Sunday Business Post (print edition) >