JP blasts tax exile critics

In an uncharacteristically outspoken moment, billionaire businessman JP McManus has blasted the people who criticise him over his non-resident status.

McManus, one of the country’s most recognisable figures due to his vast fortune and his horseracing ownership pursuits, was speaking at the University of Limerick on Saturday.

The Limerick native has contributed handsomely to his home county, with charities benefiting from the annual JP McManus golf pro-am as well as the Sporting Limerick body which sponsors the county’s GAA teams.

But he was in a mood to fight back against those who criticise him for his non-resident status – as a resident of Switzerland he is not liable to pay taxes in this country.

Said JP, “I didn’t leave the country in order to avoid paying a tax, or to avoid paying a future tax that was about to come down the line. I paid my taxes and I set up a business abroad.

“If I was somebody who set up a business abroad and it didn’t go so well I’d be considered an emigrant; if it goes well I’m considered an exile.

“Now, what do they want? Do they want you to come back and try and support the local economy, try to earn some money abroad and then put it in the local economy? That’s what I like to do.

“I consider myself Irish. I’m proud to be Irish and I think I’m doing the country more good by being abroad, trying to earn a few quid. If I bring it back and decide to spend it whatever way I like here, at least I’m improving the economy.”

Want to know more? JP McManus is our Monday Newsmaker over here.