Our tax policy has to stay non-negotiable

IT is indisputable that the EU has remained admirably consistent in supporting this country when it comes to Brexit matters, and in particular in relation to the issue of the backstop and the desired avoidance, at all costs, of the imposition of a hard border.

At this most difficult time, and most certainly in the immediate wake of the UK’s Brexit referendum decision, many people may have feared, with some justification, that the EU would hang its colours on a different mast, and that Ireland could well have been left without the supportive political ballast that it required.

Nothing, however, could have been further from the truth and so we must acknowledge that we have benefited hugely from the unanimous and unwavering support of our fellow EU members.

However, what must also be appreciated in this European context is that once Britain leaves the EU, one particularly important aspect of their contribution will also be gone; as a particularly strong proponent when it comes to the importance of national governments determining their own tax regimes, the British voice on such matters, when it comes to our own perspective, will inevitably be missed.

It is vitally important that we do not find ourselves steamrolled into relinquishing our veto on such matters, for the reality is that our very ambitious and far-sighted stance on tax policy has done this country a great deal of good. The last thing we need post-Brexit, when the knock-on effects will inevitably throw up myriad difficulties in so many areas, is any other set-back, any additional change in direction, that could prove potentially perilous for this country and its economy.

While continuing to value our position within the fold of the EU, and to acknowledge the support of our fellow members over Brexit, we must, nonetheless, continue to voice our own opinion and to stand firm on our tax policy.