AmCham Survey Results on Personal Tax and Key member Challenges

Key findings from AmCham FDI Insights survey have indicated that 98% of respondents are of the view that an increase in personal taxes, on high earners, would be damaging to FDI growth and investment in Ireland.

This is not to say that high earners – or the US MNC community in Ireland – should not pay their fair share of tax – but actually the opposite. We understand that foreign-owned MNCs contribute 86.5% of all corporation tax collected in Ireland, and 64.5% of all personal tax collected can also be attributed to the activities of foreign-owned MNCs. Further, the OECD has consistently reported that low- and middle-income earners pay less income tax in Ireland than their equivalent income earners in many other countries while higher earners pay more.

Ireland already has one of the most progressive income tax systems in the world – which means that the higher earners pay proportionally a lot more tax. The Tax Strategy Group paper from the Department of Finance, published in July of this year, estimated that, for 2023:

• the top 20% of income earners will contribute 79% of the total income tax and USC receipts collected;
• the top 10% of income earners will contribute 62% of the total income tax and USC receipts collected; and
• the top 1% of income earners will contribute 23% of the total income tax and USC receipts collected.

The top combined income tax/PRSI/USC rate in Ireland is already challenging in terms of attracting and retaining critically needed skills and talent – and our members have clearly said the issue is not the individual impact – it is the impact on teams. In our survey, 100% of respondents said high-income earners are important in terms of building new teams, and supporting job creation, with 84% saying they are very or extremely important. As such, these roles are essential in supporting continued job creation and growth in Ireland.

AmCham’s FDI Insights survey has shown that 60% of respondents said they expect the number of employees in the Irish operations of their organisation to increase over the next 12 months, while 33% plan to maintain current employee numbers, and 91% of respondents said their corporate headquarters have a positive view of Ireland as an investment location.

In terms of key challenges for Ireland to overcome to support companies expanding, housing remained the number one challenge. 38% of respondents identified housing as the most important challenge to overcome, with 18% of respondents saying cost competitiveness and 13% saying skills shortage.. Further, 100% of respondents said the availability of residential accommodation is important to maintaining and attracting FDI employment in Ireland.

AmCham continues to advocate for the delivery of infrastructural capacity to cater for Ireland’s current and future needs, and the delivery of housing to support talent and our communities. AmCham has consistently outlined the need for reform of the planning system to provide certainty of timeframe and process, not certainty of outcome.

To engage with AmCham on the findings of, and topics addressed in its FDI Insights Survey, please contact Colm O’Callaghan, Director of Public Affairs & Advocacy at c.ocallaghan@amcham.ie