The Last Post: Why it was worth it for Ireland to hang tough on two little words

The deletion of ‘at least’ gives some certainty for the future but while a higher corporation tax rate might not deter major international firms from locating here, they may have other questions about the reliability of electricity supply and potential planning issues

Paschal Donohoe has negotiated that all companies with an annual turnover of less than €750 million will continue to be charged in Ireland at a rate of 12.5 per cent. Picture: Bloomberg

Some of the arguments put forward about Ireland agreeing to take part in an internationally coordinated increase of corporation tax were a bit baffling. Surely getting 15 per cent tax out of the profits companies make instead of 12.5 per cent would mean more money for Ireland, instead of the €2 billion per annum fall the government was warning us about?

As it turns out, it was always a bit more complicated than that, because ...