This OECD sponsored review group has given the Irish Revenue a clean bill of health in regard to information swapping internationally between Revenue authorities. This has significance, not so much as a measure of Revenue performance, but rather as important independent confirmation that Ireland does not operate as a tax haven or tax shelter economy.

Commentators, both at home and abroad, tend to confuse the availability of low tax rates with tax haven status. A low tax rate is not the same as a low tax take. A low tax rate regime is not the same as a low tax regime.

However the OECD notes that charging nominal or even zero taxes is not sufficient, by itself, to result in characterising a country as a tax haven. The three other factors to be considered are:

• Whether there is a lack of transparency
• Whether there are laws or administrative practices that prevent the effective exchange of information for tax purposes with other governments on taxpayers benefiting from the no or nominal taxation.
• Whether there is an absence of a requirement that the activity be substantial

Ireland is no longer a low tax rate jurisdiction for any head of charge other than Corporation Tax. Corporation Tax accounts for just over 10% of Ireland's overall tax yield so it cannot be described as nominal. The evidence of this report should dismiss any suggestion of a lack of transparency or failure to exchange information.

The findings of the Review Group are at Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.