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S P R I N G 2 0 1 6
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·
Huawei has opened its newest Ireland
R&D office in the center of Dublin's
Digital Docklands, creating 50 new
R&D jobs, bringing to 120 the total
number of its R&D employees in
Ireland;
·
LinkedIn Ireland surpassed its 1,000
jobs milestone as it celebrates its fifth
anniversary here;
·
Citi officially opened the Citi
Accelerator Hub in June 2015, an
office space located in Citi's Dublin
offices for Fintech startups;
·
GE Healthcare's $40 million
investment is set to double
manufacturing in Carrigtwohill in
County Cork;
·
Uber is to invest
4 million in
Limerick, creating 150 jobs by the
end of 2015; and
·
Bluefin Payment Systems will
establish a Technology & Operations
Centre in Waterford City, creating 40
new jobs over the next three years.
So What Makes Ireland
So Attractive?
1. European Market access: Ireland is
an EU member state and is the only
English speaking Euro currency zone
member, giving it access to a market
of over 500 million consumers and
reducing exchange rate risk on trade
within the Eurozone.
2. Track record: Ireland has strong and
long standing trade links to the U.K.
and the U.S.
3. Corporate tax rates: This has been
a core component of the favorable
enterprise environment in Ireland
for over three decades. The Irish
tax regime is open and transparent
and complies fully with OECD
guidelines and EU competition law.
Ireland's 12.5 percent corporate tax
rate on trading income is the lowest
onshore statutory corporate tax rate
in Western Europe. In addition,
Ireland has signed comprehensive
Double Taxation Agreements with
72 countries, of which 68 are in
effect. Dividends received by an Irish
holding company from companies
resident in these "treaty countries"
are taxable at the 12.5 percent rate.
The new Knowledge Development
Box, which took effect on January1,
2016, is one of a suite of measures
designed to incentivize companies to
develop new technology in Ireland. It
provides for a 6.25 percent corporate
tax rate for income generated from
commercializing certain intellectual
property.
4. Holding company regime: Ireland
offers an attractive regime for holding
companies locating here, and for
their shareholders. Many leading
global companies, and private
equity/wealth funds, have chosen to
relocate their headquarters to Ireland.
Holding company drivers include:
(i) exemptions for Irish tax resident
holding companies from Irish tax on
capital gains realized on disposals
of qualifying subsidiaries; and on
dividends received from other Irish
resident companies; (ii) favorrable
treatment of foreign dividend income;
(iii) generous exemptions from Irish
withholding tax on dividends and
interest payments made to non-Irish
residents; (iv) no thin capitalization
rules which allow an Irish holding
company to be debt financed; (v) no
"controlled foreign company", or
"sub part F" rules means that the
profits of a foreign subsidiary of an
Irish holding company are not taxed
in Ireland unless they are repatriated
to Ireland; and (vi) generous reliefs
for costs of acquiring IP and other
intangibles.
5. Skilled labor force: Ireland has
a skilled, multi-disciplined and
English speaking workforce. Ireland
was ranked first in the world for
availability of skilled labor and
for flexibility and adaptability of
workforce by the International
Institute for Management
Development (IMD) World
Competitiveness Yearbook 2015.
According to Eurostat 2014, Irish
labor costs have remained relatively
stable since 2008.
6. Ease of doing business: A
company can be incorporated within
five business days. Business tax
registration can be arranged by
submitting one form to the revenue
commissioner, and there are a
number of different financing options
available.
7. Stability: Ireland has a strong
legal and regulatory framework
that supports business. Ireland is a
common law jurisdiction. Its legal
concepts will be recognized and
understood by most foreign investors,
including U.S. multinationals.
Ireland's courts system is efficient
and pro-business. The Irish
Commercial Court, a specific division
of the High Court deals quickly with
commercial disputes over
1 million
or disputes involving intellectual
property.
8. Investment incentives: The
IDA offers various incentives to
international companies choosing
Ireland as their European base. To
date it has partnered with 1,150
entities in establishing and expanding
their Irish presence. Some of these
incentives include: exemptions for
certain start-up companies from tax
in each of their first three years;
R&D tax credits; 100% allowance
on capital expenditure incurred on
scientific research; and the Special
Assignee Relief Programme (SARP)
which offers a reduction in income
tax to qualifying employees who
relocate to Ireland.
So, 2015 was a record year for FDI in
Ireland. IDA client employment reached
its peak at 187,056. And the IDA has
set lofty targets for the next five years
including the creation of 80,000 new
jobs, 900 investments, and
3 billion
R&D investments. There has never been
a better time to invest in Ireland.