Ireland

Facebook has become one of the first large technology companies to shake up its tax structure and book less of its revenue in Ireland, as multinationals come under pressure to pay tax in the countries where they operate.

From January 1st, Facebook will begin the process of booking revenues from large advertisers in about 28 countries – including France and Germany and other major European markets – in the countries in which they were earned. It will also pay the taxes on those revenues in those countries, and not in Ireland.

Apple on MOnday reached an agreement with the European Union to begin depositing the €13 billion ($15.4 billion) in back taxes it was ordered to pay Ireland last year, following the landmark decision to crackdown on tax shelter policies and profit offshoring, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A strong Easter bank holiday weekend helped Ryanair to a 55% rise in profit for the three months to the end of June. The airline reported a profit after tax of €397m for the quarter, compared to an average forecast of €366 million in a company poll of analysts.

Ryanair generated €1.9 billion in revenue during the quarter, up 13% on the same period last year and carried 35m passengers (+12%). The company notes the results are flattered by the fact that Easter fell in April this year, skewing comparisons with 2016, when it was in March.

Credit Suisse, which set up a European hub in Dublin creating 100 jobs last year to service hedge fund clients, may apply for a full banking licence in Ireland as it prepares to move jobs out of London following the UK’s decision to quit the European Union, according to sources.

Credit Suisse received regulatory approval in December 2015 to operate as a direct branch of the group’s Zurich headquarters, becoming the first and only bank to date to avail of a change in Irish law in 2013 that allowed non-EU banks to set up a branch in Ireland.
Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Paris and Brussels are among the main locations competing with Dublin to lure financial services activity from London in the wake of the Brexit referendum last June. However, despite the triggering of Article 50 last month, it is understood that Credit Suisse has, as yet, no preferred location.

Luxembourg has ‘thrown its hat in the ring’ to become the new home of the European Banking Authority (EBA) after Brexit and says it has a "legal claim" to host it.

Citing a European Union law dating back to 1965, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel made his case in a letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker, following the triggering of Article 50.

In the past, two exceptions to the decision have been made with the ECB going to Frankfurt and the EBA going to London.