I see google have just announced 600 new jobs in Dublin over the next few years. Good news in a bad week for the government I suppose. Micheal Martin was of course making the most of the announcement claiming, "This decision yet again demonstrates that Ireland is by far and away the primary location for the digital media industry in Europe"

John Herlihy, Google's European Director of Online Sales and Operations said: "Basing our European operations here in Dublin has proven to be a great decision" And indeed it has, a few weeks ago the Irish Times reported that last year, Google Ireland had a turnover of €603 million and remarkable only paid €1.6 million in corporation tax to the exchequer. That is less than 0.3% of its Irish turnover. The massive gap exists not because Google Ireland is performing poorly but because over €300 million in royalty payments which are not subject to tax were written off as expenses to another of its subsidiaries. Ultimately these subsidary payments filter back into Google Corps. bottom line profit. In fact, Google has managed to reduce its entire tax bill worldwide from 39% to 30% in 2005 thanks to its operation in Ireland.

No surprise those new jobs are coming our way then! We should be grateful, right?

Published by Padraig.