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DONALD TRUMP CITED US pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer’s move to Ireland as he committed to returning American companies to home soil last night.
In a victory speech after winning three key primaries, the Republican presidential frontrunner said he would cut tax rates to attract multinationals back to the US.
Pfizer confirmed last year that it had agreed a $160 billion (€150 billion) reverse merger with Irish-based Botox maker Allergan, creating the world’s largest drug company by revenue.
The so-called inversion deal will involve the newly-created company, to be called Pfizer PLC, shifting its tax base to Ireland, with the firm’s operational headquarters remaining in the US.
Pfizer estimates that the relocation will reduce its effective tax bill to between 17% and 18% of profits in the first year after the merger, down from around 25% currently, due to Ireland’s lower corporate taxes.
That would be enough to save the company $1 billion (€940 million) every year.
‘Everyone agrees’
Trump referred to the move as he told supporters he would overhaul the tax code to ensure companies remain in the US.
If elected to the White House, he said, “Apple and all of these great companies will be making their products in the United States”.
We’re not going to be losing our companies.
Our companies are leaving our country rapidly, whether it’s Carrier air conditioning, whether it’s Ford, whether it’s Eaton … Pfizer – great company … they’re going to Ireland and there’s so many more.
Trump added: “Everyone agrees – Democrat and Republican – that the money should come back.
“There is $2.5 trillion (€2.3 trillion) outside this country. Everyone agrees the money should be here and the politicians for three years haven’t been able to make a deal.
We could make a deal … If I sat down with a few of the senators or a few of the congressmen, you could make a deal on that in 10 minutes if you knew what you were doing.
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Trade wars brewing between usa & eu
In fairness he’s right. There’s a global game of one-upmanship played on a grand scale. The big winners are big companies. The losers are every citizen who would benefit from companies contributing their fair share.
I’m sure the US would be intimidated by such a prospect, what with all the cheese, and no doubt other things, we produce in the EU relative to the one dimensional US economy.
Well if that’s the case where does that leave TTIP?
He’s against ttip and tpp
Ireland doesn’t lose out, Paige.
Ireland has been made a very good home for many huge companies and the country benefits massively from it. Pfizer employs ~3,200 people in Ireland. Facebook employs ~1,000 people here, and google over 5,000. If it’s no longer financially beneficial to them to do so they’ll pack up and leave without a care in the world.
it would be terrible for Ireland for the reason Ireland never invested in its people ff fg have done nothing only sent our young away always dependent on AMERICA its going to bite us in the ass someday I c it coming.this island should be self sufficient by now.
it doesn’t matter whos in presidency in America they know they have to bring back those companys in order to create employment for their own people its going to happen Ireland is way to dependent on foregin companys to provide work for our people.fg fg have set us up for a hugh fall
ff and fg
It’s got nothing to do with the US president, with FF, FG or anyone one else. If the tax code is changed in the US (and it won’t be, it’s not the remit of the President to do it) these companies will find more creative ways of minimizing their tax exposure. Resisting this is futile, Ireland has taken advantage of it and should continue to do so… we have got maybe 100k jobs in total out of it.
Capitalism is great… unless it’s against America’s interests??
These big companies will go where they can get a good deal there’s nothing stopping these guys going home
What can’t the ewdt?
For info…. Ff or FG don’t create non civil service jobs but European governments facilitate their creation. European trade laws determine many but not all location strategies of non European companies.
This issue always comes at a time of election (for both parties) and is batted away until the next election. What happens is both parties overlords (very big business) make the real calls, rhetoric from both sides before an election is replaced by the economic realities that favour their bosses, was and will always be the same.
Trump does not get to decide where a business sets up shop. If they want to move their business somewhere else then they’re free to do so. It also strikes me as a bit strange that Donal Trump would go on about outsourcing when none of the product he sells or bands as his are produced in the United States.
These companies are not going back to the US because of the low tax rates here.
Trump is just appealing to the caravan rednecks and people with no comprehension of taxation. Ireland is fine, it has a low Corp tax rate as we have the UK to directly compete with. They aren’t “taking advantage” of Ireland either. People that don’t understand taxation need to stop commenting and sounding foolish. If the US overhaul their tax system, accountants will find another way to divert profits trust me. The US has a very high tax rate, if it wants to compete with us, then lower it. Otherwise shut your god damn mouth America, and drink your own medicine. #CapatlismBitesBack
Enda will need A bigger bowl Of Shamrocks
Sure Trump’s little hands will make the bowl look huge.
even his own companies in Ireland availing of the same tax rates and breaks? Hardly.
Let’s tax all non member owned golf resorts at 90%.
They have been trying for decades to change the US tax laws and failed. It is not the remit of the President but congress. The congress can’t even pass a budget so trying to change tax is near impossible. Mr Trump can say what he likes but don’t get to excited.
True. But either Trump doesn’t know this or doesn’t care. He’ll say *anything* to get himself elected.
Funny, if I was American I would be agreeing with him. Having said that their tax rate would have to come down an awful lot to come close to matching ours.
39% is the C.T rate in the US. American companies in Ireland employ 120,000 people. Irish companies in the US employ a similar number.
He said apple and these great companies will be making their products back in the US? I don’t think these companies will agree- apple products are made in sweat shops in China. Don’t see them getting away with paying American workers that low wage and expect workers to work 6-7 days a week!
Trump is dumb.some good ideas to make America great again, but not real with all his promises together.
I just hope the voters aren’t suckered into his major campaign
I wonder will he move the car industry from Mexico back to Detroit?…………..nah……it’s just the kind of thing you say to get elected.
Trump has gotten used to doing what ever he wants, declaring bankruptcy if it fails and then trys again with something new. He greatest trick is getting the banks to still loan him money.
Do the banks still lend to Trump ?!?!
It would be a yuge risk for them, if they still are …
Trump has had 515 companies and 4 of those have gone through chapter 11 restructuring, which isn’t necessarily a bad business move, you’d swear listening to ye that he was a complete bum who failed in everything he ever tried. Stop using John Oliver as your main source of information, it’s a comedy show with obvious political bias it’s not the gospel truth.
Shur we gave them Ford in the first place.:)
Won’t really work. The US won’t drop its corporation tax to anywhere near our 12.5%. The Multinationals in Ireland pay a lot less than the 12.5% they are meant to pay due to government ‘incentives’ such as grants and subsidies to encourage and retain foreign multinationals. There is no way the US would allow huge multinationals to effectively dictate their own levels of tax like we do here.
Wrong
Interesting read ……………
http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/ireland-tax-haven-1796050-Nov2014/
please explain gerard? As a final year economics student I’d like to think I’m quite knowledgeable on the Irish tax scene.
Pfizer will just say duck you Trump and pull out of America altogether ….. It won’t happen ….. Trump President … Hahahaha
Sort out your tax codes in the USA and stop picking on ours just because they allow huge corporations to scam both jurisdictions
Correct
On his watch, on his tiny wrist, attached to his tiny tiny hand.
Holding his tiny tiny……….
Why a photo of him looking like he’s giving two fingers to the world ? I wonder what the agenda is
It pretty easy, just change the American tax laws.
If the larger companies left Ireland because the tax they pay is raised, it being the only reason there here, how much employment and revenue would we loss, think that’s call cutting your nose off to spiat your face?
Well given the rise in SF’s popularity, it would appear that’s what the irish want, assuming their supporters are familiar with SF’s policy plans to move away from supporting multinationals and FDI.
Ah he just wants his own personal viagra plant closer to home.
“$2.5 Trillion = €2.3 Billion”
The value of the dollar has really sunk badly upon Trumps announcement.
He has a business in co clare using job bridge cheap labour will he f off from there I wonder
He’s saying enough of what the voters want to hear. I’m starting to be really concerned that he’s gonna get himself elected..
Oh oh
Well if he is against emigrants entering the states, who will work for all these companies that he plans relocating back to the states.
Allan , trump never said he was against emigrants he said he was against illegal emigrants big difference
So now we have a proper reason why some Irish people don’t want him to win the election.
Trump will say anything to get elected
Ah well, time for us to stand on our own two feet for the first time since we gained independence.
No so funny now…
will be unemployed so, thanks Donald!
Who will buy your T bills then Donald?
Trump won’t do shite because he won’t be president
Hypocrite. He buys a hotel in Clare and hires staff through the job-bridge scheme. If he’s prepared to take advantage of Ireland’s labour and tax laws, then why shouldn’t Pfizer and Apple ? I bet that neither of those two companies hire their staff in a similar way.
@W1K That is a really interesting statistic. I didn’t realise Irish companies had that many US employees. Do you have a link to where you saw those numbers?
American Chamber of Commerce Ireland
firms export an estimated 100b from Ireland to world markets. The US is Irelands top export destination, US firms employ over 130 000 people in Ireland. There are over 700 US businesses operating in Ireland. Irish firms employ approximately 120 000 in the US.
Trade war with China = decline in living standards for both US and Chinese consumers, china loses its status as the world’s workshop causing political revolution. US can’t sell it’s debt at sustainable interest rates and resorts to printing money or dramatically slashing govt spending, either of which will devastate their economy.
Granted this is a particularly pessimistic scenario but where would Europe and Ireland fit in here? We would also suffer.
Trump needs to be stopped.
Hopefully his company – Trump hotel will be the first to go!
This guy says ALOT and does very little. I wouldn’t be holding my breath
I usually don’t agree with trump but with this he’s actually making sense .heat are going to do with all the specialist staff ship them over to the states.
Think youre reading too much of the corporate literature at work and the Oirsh Indopondont as to why these companies are in Ireland.
There very few truly specialist jobs here that cant be done elsewhere. Might take 5 – 10 years but any of these specialist fields can be set up anywhere in the world. I know plenty of people in pharma who are glorified technicians but see themselves as specialists cause some yank director came over and told them so.
Our universities are slipping in ranks as well, meaning our workforce is not as well educated as we let on. With college fees being reintroduced many people with high IQs will be barred from entering specialist fields due to the financial burden.
What a complete imbecile
Dangerous knob
And our fools got the red carpet out for him. Embarrassing.
Wasn’t he tweeting good luck in the election to his friend Edward Kenny (or some such misnomer) so maybe he will pat Enda on the head in a Sarkozy style and allow a few jobs to stay??
#muricaYeah
That’s him wiped off our ‘Cert of Irish Heritage’ list even though we would have found it difficult to find him an Irish ancestor either ways.
Obviously the cringe worthy welcome he got a while back didn’t work out as planned
Then let trump himself leave Ireland
Does this mean Ireland will create their own pharmaceutical companies , surely this is good news
Is that microscopic whorl snail still holding him up.
It was the Irish who saved the Union at the battle of the Little Round top at the Battle of Gettisberg. Robert E Lee said he would have won if he had the Irish. We will try to compensate by building millions of wind trurbines in the US, That will bring millions of jobs, free clean electricity, share price rises, industry all powered by the wind
I think you substantially missed my point @Alan and it is the “I’m ok jack” approach that facilitated this on a grand sale . The amount of tax the companies you mention pay worldwide is generally quite small. If they were paying more of their share then lots of people globally would feel the benefit. Instead Ireland and other countries around the world seek to reduce the amount companies pay in taxes. Everyone loses apart from the big companies.
Up the Irish Tax rate, let the multinational move out, then we’ll see who looses
American companies take over companies over much of the world every day. Now they want to stop companies in America moving abroad while they feel entitled to take over almost any company anywhere. It takes two to tango.
All the tee-shirts and caps he distributes to his followers have “Made in China” on them.
“Make America Great Again”…..printed in China.
.
He has already done untold damage to the previously good reputation of America.
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