| Strong political backing for international financial services |
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| Leading political, business and public service speakers urge continued internationalisation |
The Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, told delegates at the annual Finance Dublin conference that political support for the IFSC adjust to take account of the ending of the ring-fence around the IFSC. ‘What we have from now on is international financial services from Ireland’ he said. ‘It is now about fostering an integral part of the economy, and a particularly important part, the internationally traded services sector.’
Over 300 people attended the three day conference proceedings at O’Reilly Hall, Belfield, Dublin.
The T?naiste, Mary Harney, speaking to delegates at lunch, said that the Government would continue with low tax policies which had helped build the IFSC. She noted that the income tax burden was still higher on middle-income earners in Ireland than the UK, saying that more needed to be done here.
The Governor of the Central Bank, Maurice O’Connell, who said that Ireland had come from being a provincial backwater in global financial terms. ‘If we have serious ambitions towards a strong international profile in financial services, we must demonstrate first and foremost that we have the expertise to apply the regulatory system that this requires’.
He added, ‘If the industry is to survive and prosper here, then we must be better than others and we must offer attractions that are not duplicated elsewhere’. O’Connell disagreed with those who said that regulators should not promote the development of financial services. ‘I would be more flexible’, he said.
Dermot Quigley, Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners, said that ‘the international acceptability of our tax regimes is critical for the success of the IFSC and for the general well-being of an economy so heavily based on international exchange’.
‘We are not alone concerned with the domestic implications of new policies or practices and new law by also with the international implications and perceptions of these developments’.
On IFSC bank tax audits, Quigley said some criticism had been ‘shrill’, but the Revenue would be ‘even-handed and resonable’ and would take ‘a commonsense approach.’
In relation to the OECD and EU discussions on codes of practice on taxation, he said, ‘Our policy is not just to row but to steer’.
He added that the Revenue was committed to consultation and dialogue ‘right across the administration of the tax system’, he said.
At the conclusion of the event, Ken O’Brien, publisher of Finance Dublin announced that next year’s event, with a number of new features, will be held on March 26th to 28th, next year. |
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| Article appeared in the April 2000 issue.
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