IMDO Launch Report on Irish Tonnage Tax Opportunities for International Shipping Industry
IrishTonnageTax – The Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) has released a report Irish Tonnage Tax: Opportunities for the International Shipping Industry.
The Irish tonnage tax regime has been established for over 10 years and offers one of the most competitive on-shore corporate tax rates to international shipping companies.
The tonnage tax report was produced by independent experts PwC and details the benefits of locating a maritime operation in Ireland. The report provides an update on Ireland’s extensive double tax treaty network.
Ireland’s role is highlighted in its expertise in asset leasing and for having a well developed structured finance regime which can be directly applied to international maritime financing.
The Irish tonnage tax is derived from a ‘notional’ profit calculated based on the tonnage of a vessel, which is then subject to the Irish corporate tax rate of 12.5%.
The IMDO is the Irish government agency which provides support and advice to Maritime companies setting up operations in Ireland. In his forward to the report, IMDO Director Liam Lacey says ‘this publication provides independent validation of Ireland’s status as a world class location in which to conduct business and more particularly, sets Ireland apart as a hub for maritime commerce’.
As a country, Ireland continues to maintain its reputation as a pro-business environment that has attracted investment from some of the world’s largest companies over the past three decades.
In Forbes’ 2014 annual ranking of the Best Countries for Business, Ireland was named number one country in the world for business.
More recently, figures released by the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the national economy grew by more than seven times the EU average between April and June 2014. This is the strongest growth rate recorded in Ireland since the early 2000’s, showing a strong and stable recovery.
Continuing in this vein, the Irish Economic and Social Research Institute (ERSI) predict that Ireland’s GNP is to grow by approximately 5% in 2014 and 5.3% in 2015.
