The Germans. A great bunch of lads!

Mistake number one is it should be called ‘Deutsch abteilung’.

The Bundestag is to setup a monitoring office in Dublin…

4th Reich in action and enda neville chamberlain kenny will be the new spokesperson for mammy Merkel plans In creating new living space.

So this A&L Goodbody group has set up a department to advise German Captains of Industry on how to screw the German Inland Revenue out of tax money and funnel it through Ireland before it goes back into their Deutsche Bank accounts? Nothing new in that sure we have been doing it for American and British businesses for ages. With this Fiscal Cliff thing fast approaching in the USA probaly best that we find some new “customers”. Sure its better than coming up with a sustainable model of employment.

Whats more intresting is the factoid “A&L reckons that about 300 German companies have set up business in Ireland, that they employ around 20,000 people.” Have a look at this its from the IDA and is about the same topic http://www.idaireland.com/news-media/featured-news/german-irish-chamber-surv/ The IDA also casually throw about the figure of 20,000 people employed. However some of the other factoids in the article are a little more intresting.

For example It seems these friendly German companies providing employment and choclate (for after all Germany is the land of chocolate) are not just set on doing the German Inland Revenue out of money but that also that the majority of them, some 56% seem to think that the minimum wage is to high in Ireland? Thats not surprising Germany has NO statutory minimum wage.

So what we have is German Companies moving to Ireland to avoid paying higher taxes in Germany, seems ok so far. Then those companies complain that while corporate tax rates are way lower here, headline rates of 12.5% in Ireland (often lower in practice) compared to average rates of 29.8% in Germany. The pesky minimum wage thing still must really be hurting their profit margin, but wait again lets dig a little deeper WHO are these German Companies – most notable would be Lidl or the Pharmacutical giants like Grunenthal or Shutz. So my question would be how many people employed by a Pharmacutical Company are paid minimum wage? I would have thought that was a skilled job that would warrent good pay? I understand Lidl’s angle here having no minimum wage meens they can pay their staff peanuts.

The bigger question behind all this would be why does the IDA and A&L Goodbody provide a forum or mouthpeice for these companies to attempt to undermine the system of minimun wage that we enjoy here? In fact didnt the IDA complain just like everyone else when Fianna FAil cut minimum wage buy €1 per hour just before the regime change (sorry, election) also dont the German Companies realise that while they avoid high corporate tax rates for operating here in Ireland ordinary Irish Citizens do not recive the same luxery as they see tax hikes and spending cuts. If we didnt have the minimum wage that we do then the Irish Government wouldnt be in position to offer this low corporate tax rate to them in the first place as the minimum wage keeps other wages high which therefore allows government to tax those wages and pay off state debts to the IMF.

Bottom Line = compaines must choose between (Ireland) = Low Corporate Tax but with a good standard of minimum wage OR (Germany) = High Corportate TAx with low or no minimum wage cant have both Low Corporate Tax and no minimum wage as there would be no tax revenue and well then you have no roads, hospitals, schools, police. You know all those things that allow large MNCs to go about their business of profit making they are kind of paid for by taxes!