On 4 May, President Obama announced a set of proposals to crack down on illegal overseas tax evasion, close loopholes and make it more profitable for companies to create jobs in the US.
President Obama's official remarks are available here
The full detail of the proposals is available from the US Department of the Treasury. While Ireland is specifically mentioned, as one of three countries, it is important to view the mention in the context of the statement - nearly one-third of all foreign profits reported by US Corporations in 2003 came from "just three small, low tax countries": Bermuda, the Netherlands and Ireland. This is a question of fact. It is equally important to recognize that Ireland is not a tax haven, indeed in the recent OECD listing of tax havens Ireland featured favourably.
In "leveling the playing field" by curbing tax havens and removing tax incentives for shifting jobs overseas, the following are a summary of the proposals:
1) Replacing Tax Advantages for Creating Jobs Overseas With Incentives to Create Them at Home
- Reforming Deferral Rules to Curb A Tax Advantage for Investing and Reinvesting Overseas
- Closing Foreign Tax Credit Loopholes
- Using Savings To Make Permanent The Tax Credit for Investing in Research and Experimentation at Home
2) Getting Tough on Overseas Tax Havens
- Eliminating Loopholes for "Disappearing" Offshore Subsidiaries
- Cracking Down on the Abuse of Tax Havens by Individuals
- Devoting New Resources for IRS Enforcement to Help Close the International Tax Gap
The detailed press release from the US Treasury is available here