Monday 12 January 2015

NORTHERN IRELAND 1 WALES 0


Legislation that should allow Corporation Tax powers to be devolved to Stormont has been published. Corporation tax is levied on the profits made by companies. The current rate paid by businesses in Northern Ireland is 21%, which compares unfavourably with the 12.5% rate in the Republic of Ireland. The Northern Ireland Executive wants to be able to match the tax rate in the Republic. The new powers won't come into effect until 2017.

It is vital that our country has the tools to build a fair and sustainable economy and it is important that power is fairly balanced across the UK, with Wales having parity with the other constituent parts. The Silk Commission recommended that Corporation Tax should be devolved to Wales in the event of it being devolved to other parts of the UK.

The Westminster Con Dem coalition government plans to pass the law before May's general election. All the political parties in Wales agreed to this principle and Plaid Cymru has long argued the case for this important lever to be made available to the Welsh Government. The party, formally known as New Labour, has said that it will not oppose the passage of the Bill. 

No comments:

Post a Comment