They have their eye on business.
The UK will pitch a post-Brexit “low tax and smart regulation” Britain, promising that the UK corporation tax will be low to encourage business in the country.
Theresa May made the claims on Wednesday in a speech to business leaders in New York and promised the UK will have the lowest rate of corporation tax in the G20 (group of 20 major economies).
In the speech to the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, May expressed her belief that Britain would secure a deal with the European Union before it withdraws from the bloc in March of next year.
“Whatever your business, investing in post-Brexit Britain will give you the lowest rate of corporation tax in the G20,” she said.
The UK corporate tax currently stands at 19% while Ireland has an attractive 12.5% rate.
Ireland has one of the lowest rates of corporate tax in the European Union but have come under increasing pressure on the issue. In June, EU president Jean-Claude Juncker, while supporting Ireland’s position on Brexit, also urged Dublin to drop its opposition to the digital tax plans.
Simon Coveney denied these claims on to RTÉ stating: “Those issues are serious issues, this is not some kind of bargain whereby the EU shows solidarity with Ireland in exchange for putting some kind of pressure on Ireland on tax.”
The low rate of corporate tax has meant that multinational companies have set up bases in Ireland as a gateway to Europe with Facebook and Google having offices in Dublin, employing thousands of people.
May’s Conservative party manifesto has pledged to reduce the corporate tax rate to 17% by 2020 to match Singapore’s rate, but May’s comments today suggest that this rate could fall even further to reach the lowest in the G20.
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