The Politics of Ireland’s Corporate Tax Games

On 7 October 2021, the Irish Minister for Finance announced the introduction of a minimum tax of 15% on large multi-national companies as part of global tax reforms. The political tensions in the lead up to this decision indicated both a determination by the Irish tax policy establishment to maintain Ireland’s status as a low tax jurisdiction, while simultaneously maintaining Ireland’s legitimacy in the world of global tax. This article explores these tensions in Ireland’s approach to corporate taxation through the analytical lens of ‘tax games’. Ireland’s role as a critical node in global tax avoidance, underpinned by a largely hidden form of politics, is outlined