Cork TD accuses Tánaiste of ‘desperation’ in multinational corporation tax row

A Cork TD has accused Tánaiste Leo Varadkar of desperation in a row about taxing multinational corporations.

Ahead of Budget 2021, Sinn Féin had proposed a reduction in tax breaks for multinational corporations in a bid to bring in more than €700m in tax revenue.

However, Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader, Leo Varadkar, took to social media to criticise the proposal.

“Multinationals played a crucial role in lifting Ireland out of the last recession and they will again as we rebuild our economy after Covid," Mr Varadkar wrote on Twitter. “What does SF want to do? Tax them.” 

Cork TD Donnchadh O Laoghaire (SF) said the Tánaiste’s comments were a sign of desperation.

“We see that Leo Varadkar has tried to make an issue of this and I think it’s a sign of desperation really," he said. 

“In my view, our budget would be far more friendly to businesses, especially small and medium businesses.” 

Sinn Féin had proposed introducing a voucher system to support SMEs, restoring the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and reducing VAT to nine percent for the hospitality sector.

Speaking ahead of Budget 2021, Sinn Fein’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said the party supported multinational corporations and was just keen to see them pay their “fair share” of taxes.

Earlier this week, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar described Budget 2021 as a “pro-business and pro-jobs Budget”.

The Budget does see a reduction in the VAT rate for the tourism and hospitality sector from 13.5 percent to nine percent from next month.

The government has also introduced a new Covid-19 Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS), and a €3.4bn Recovery Fund aimed at protecting jobs.

Meanwhile the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) will be extended into 2021 if required, and the commercial rates holiday will also be extended.