Last Wednesday, Chartered Accountants Ireland and the Ulster Society were pleased to meet with members of the Northern Ireland Assembly Finance and Economy Committees in Stormont to discuss the Institute’s ongoing campaign to reduce the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland. Representatives from the Institute spoke about the need for a coherent, long term industrial policy in Northern Ireland that attracts investment, creates secure, well-paid jobs and fosters innovation and entrepreneurship. As part of an overall industrial strategy, Northern Ireland needs to reduce its corporation tax rate and provide policy certainty for potential investors. The feedback from members of the committees was positive and informed. It was clear that members were deeply committed to improving the economic environment in Northern Ireland and in improving living standards for workers. The key issues and Institute stance The main issue remains the potential impact on the block grant that Northern Ireland receives every year. The Institute outlined various measures that can be availed of to overcome this issue, most notably the use of a low interest loan from Westminster to manage the initial drop in corporate tax revenue that would arise immediately after the rate reduction.  The Institute also outlined that phased introduction should be considered to reduce the immediate impact on the block grant. In terms of the economic impact on Northern Ireland, research from the ESRI shows that a reduction in corporate tax rates would increase investment in Northern Ireland by 7.5% which would lead to substantial employment opportunities for people in Northern Ireland. Our progress to date and next steps  The next step will be to take this campaign to Westminster to push the agenda forward.  The need for cross party support for reducing Northern Ireland’s corporation tax rate is essential for progress to be made with HMRC and HM Treasury and this point was highlighted during last Wednesday’s meeting. To date, the Institute has met with a broad range of stakeholders and have now met with all major parties in Northern Ireland.  As outlined here last week, in November 2025, the Institute wrote specifically to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on this issue. In this letter, we highlighted that the ultimate aim of a lower rate is for it to become self-funding in the longer term, but that it would necessitate a replacement loan at a low interest rate from HM Treasury to fund the necessary block grant reduction. Last year the Institute published its position paper ‘Enhancing Our Competitiveness: The case for a reduced rate of corporation tax in Northern Ireland’.  Share your experiences and insights If you work in a local business and would like to participate in the Institute’s campaign by being a voice of support for a lower rate, contact us by email.

Earlier this week members from industry and practice met in the Titanic Hotel in Belfast to discuss the Institute’s ongoing campaign to lower the rate of corporation tax in Northern Ireland. In June 2025 the Institute launched its refreshed campaign for a lower rate after a survey of members showed ongoing and broad support for this campaign. The campaign kicked off again last year when the Institute published its position paper ‘Enhancing Our Competitiveness: The case for a reduced rate of corporation tax in Northern Ireland’.  The Institute believes that Northern Ireland needs a comprehensive industrial policy that attracts investment, encourages entrepreneurship and brings well paid, secure jobs to the Northern Ireland economy.  Coupled with dual access to both the EU and UK markets, reducing the rate of corporation tax in Northern Ireland would be transformative for the entire economy.  Since the summer, the Institute has met with a broad range of stakeholders, including many of the major political parties in Northern Ireland, to discuss this issue. This work will continue in 2026 with the ultimate aim of developing a plan to implement a lower rate in the longer term. The Institute’s ongoing campaign for a lower rate of corporation tax for NI was also highlighted in 2025 in submissions to HMRC, and HM Treasury. In addition, in November 2025, the Institute wrote specifically to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on this issue highlighting that the ultimate aim of a lower rate is that it would become self-funding in the longer term but that it would necessitate a replacement loan at a low interest rate from HM Treasury to fund the necessary block grant reduction. Attendees at the event on Monday heard about the work to date and discussed the opportunities and challenges that a lower rate would present. Attendees continue to be supportive of pursuing a lower rate and shared ideas on how to take the campaign forward and how the issue of the block grant reduction could be mitigated. The discussion also heard about the importance of this issue to local businesses, sharing what a rate cut would mean for them and the importance of protecting the existing tax base of Northern Ireland. If you work in a local business and would like to participate in the Institute’s campaign by being a voice of support for a lower rate, contact us by email.

This week the OECD published the details of the Pillar Two Side-by-Side Package, which paves the way for US cooperation with the Pillar Two initiative. The agreement exempts US headquartered multinationals from most of the Pillar Two rules (implemented in Ireland under the EU Minimum Taxation Directive). The compromise reached will see countries that operate a minimum tax system with similar policy objectives and overlapping scope as Pillar Two granted ‘Side-by-Side’ status (SbS).   Importantly from an Irish perspective, the report notes that qualified domestic minimum top-up taxes (QDMTTs) aligned with the Pillar Two rules will continue to apply to Irish subsidiaries of US-headquartered companies. As such, QDMTTs should continue to be collected in Ireland and an even playing field should be maintained as a result.  The Inflation Reduction Act in the US introduced a new corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT) of 15 percent effective for tax years beginning after 2022. As such, the same minimum tax rate that applies to US and Irish headquartered entities. This is naturally key to ensuring that the compromise agreement does not immediately provide a competitive advantage to companies headquartered in the US over similar entities headquartered in Europe and other jurisdictions implementing Pillar Two.  In addition to the SbS Safe Harbour, the package also brings broader simplifications, including a simplified effective tax rate safe harbour, the extension of the transitional country-by-country reporting (CbCR) safe harbour, as well as a substance-based tax incentive safe harbour.