A number of interesting facts have emerged from an in-depth survey published by The World Bank Group and PwC which shows that corporation tax paid in Ireland is close to the EU average due to Ireland's broad tax base. It confirms the macro economic indicator published by the EU of the ratio of Corporation Tax to GDP which illustrates the same point. The survey also places Ireland in the top ten economies in the world for the least amount of time it takes to comply with company tax obligations.

The survey found that taxes on a company's profit amount to 12.1% of commercial profit on average in the EU. The statutory rate of corporate tax is not a good measure of the rate of tax paid on profits according to the survey which uses tax paid on company profits in Ireland to support this finding. For example, in Ireland the statutory rate of 12.5% is below the EU average of 21.8%. However, taxes paid on company profits in Ireland amount to 11.9%, which is very close to the EU average. The survey notes that tax depreciation is less generous in Ireland than in some other EU economies, and capital gains are taxed at the higher rate of 25%. Taxes paid on company profits in France are only 8.2% compared to the EU average of 12.1%.

The survey also found that complying with tax obligations for a company operating in Ireland requires only 76 hours a year or less than ten working days. It takes 110 hours a year to fulfill UK company tax obligations and 183 hours are required to comply with US tax obligations for a company operating in the US.

Full details of the survey are available from http://www.doingbusiness.org/~/media/FPDKM/Doing Business/Documents/Special-Reports/Paying-Taxes-2012.pdf