IRELAND WILL veto any attempt to introduce a harmonised corporate tax rate within the European Union, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin reiterated yesterday.
Mr Martin said that it was Ireland's attractive corporate tax regime together with its pool of skilled labour that gave Ireland a competitive edge in terms of winning inward investment across a whole range of sectors.
"Our corporate tax rate is vital in terms of attracting investment in.
"It's as important as the skills issue and when you put the two together, it gives us a competitive edge in terms of winning investment," said Mr Martin.
"We will be opposing resolutely the introduction of any such harmonisation tax.
"It hasn't surfaced yet at any political level in Europe but we've made it very clear that we will veto any such move," he added.
Mr Martin was speaking at the official opening of a new 20,000 sq ft (1,858.0608 sq m) premises for US company Cognex Corporation, the world leader in the supply of machine sensors which inspect, count and identify products on fast-moving production lines.
The new IDA Ireland-supported facility at the Gateway Business Park, off the Mallow Road in Cork city, will become the company's base for shipping products to customers in Europe, Japan and other Asian countries.
Cognex Chairman and chief executive Dr Robert J Shillman said the company, which employs 800 people globally, had come to Cork about six years ago to provide a more responsive service to its international customers and it currently employs 39 people at the new facility.
Dr Shillman praised Government policy on corporate tax and IDA Ireland for its assistance in helping Cognex grow its Irish operations over the past six years and he urged the Government to continue with its pro-business policies.
"A key element of our decision to come here was better tax rates - the Irish Government have this philosophy of lowering the corporate tax to attract companies to do business here and that's why many colleagues came here with their businesses," he said.
"I looked at their financial statements and I said there's no reason why I shouldn't come here and then the whole process of coming here was made easy by the IDA.
"They deal with all the issues. Their attitude is 'we're going to help you' and they're genuine about that," according to Dr Shillman.
