Empey - “Brown and Hain’s conflicting signals on corporation tax are farcical”
UUP Leader Sir Reg Empey today said the corporation tax debate was descending into farce with the Chancellor on one hand saying it was under review in Northern Ireland while Peter Hain was pouring cold water on it saying it would contravene EU law.
In a statement Sir Reg said,
“Government appears to be in disarray on the issue and the whole debate is descending into farce.
On the one hand we have the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposing a review into corporation tax in Northern Ireland only last week as part of his overall economic package while on the other hand Peter Hain tells us in Westminster that any cut for Northern Ireland would be against current EU law.
Given the importance of this issue to the business community in Northern Ireland and that a cut would significantly enhance Northern Ireland’s position as a place to invest in, the matter should be cleared up as soon as possible. What is the real position? Is there to be a meaningful review or has Peter Hain called it correctly?”