madam president this is on the same issue in relation to the free vote
i do not have an objection in principle to the withholding tax system but i do think we have to put down a marker that tax evasion is not acceptable
i agree with the comments that have been made about tax competition being a good thing
i think it is a good thing
i think anybody who looked at this independently would say it is a good thing
people often say well isn t it easy for you you have twelve point five corporation tax in ireland and i say well why don t you have a twelve point five corporation tax in your country if that is the problem
but there is an issue here and we need to put down the marker about tax evasion
that is a criminal offence and we really have to ensure that we do not become too close to those who practise these types of evasions
we have seen in the past where bad regulation and bad practice have brought the financial world
so in principle i am not opposed to the withholding tax but i do want to put down the marker that we do need to do something more emphatic about the whole question of tax evasion
