Global tax regulations needed

■ In relation to the ‘Paradise Papers’ revelations, moral outrage won’t get us very far. People and companies will avoid paying taxes they are not legally obliged to pay whenever and wherever they can.

Who or what company would ever volunteer to pay taxes they are not legally obliged to pay? Company directors are legally obliged to act in the best interests of the company.

Who’s to say what taxes they should pay? Morality is too nebulous a concept to be used as the basis for payment of taxes. Morality and ethics are fine, but inherently subjective concepts. They do not enter some people’s calculus, especially where money is concerned.

The rule of law must be brought to bear. Even then, look at the water charges debacle. How many people refused to pay charges they were actually legally obliged to pay?

The principle that tax should be paid where the revenue is earned should be the guiding principle. The only way to mitigate the effects of tax avoidance is to implement a set of clear, legally binding global regulations, with genuine teeth – including a proper enforcement agency with criminal prosecution and/or financial penalties for breach.

In effect, this would involve extending the remit of tax evasion on a transnational basis with a view to having a more equitable distribution of tax revenues across the globe, thus halting the flow of funds from countries

badly in need of tax revenues to fund public services.

Pointing the finger at those who benefit from the system misses the point. You’ve got to change the system. Until this happens, tax avoidance will continue to be a massive industry.

Rob Sadlier Rathfarnham, Dublin 16