Brian Brennan was inaugurated as the Irish Tax Institute's 51st President on 3 September at the AGM. Brian is a tax partner at KPMG Ireland where he spends his time equally between Dublin and the United States, specialising in cross border mergers and acquisitions, aviation financing, leasing, banking, structured finance and tax-based fundraising. He has been an Institute Council member since 2016 and chaired the Policy and Technical Committee since 2021. Read Brian Brennan's inauguration speech.
Incoming Irish Tax Institute President Urges Greater Focus on Competitiveness
The incoming President of the Irish Tax Institute has warned that Ireland must use the levers available to it in attracting inward investment or risk losing out to other countries.
Brian Brennan, a tax partner in KPMG who will become the 51st President of the Irish Tax Institute today (Thursday), said that in the “de-globalising” world, where other jurisdictions are “actively sharpening” their own competitiveness offerings, Ireland must reinforce its position as a leading location for business and talent.
He urged the Government to use Budget 2027 to:
reduce the personal marginal tax rate to 50% to make Ireland more attractive for internationally mobile workers
urgently reform Ireland’s tax treatment of interest to retain and attract investment
reduce Ireland’s Capital Gains Tax (CGT), which is among the highest in Europe, from 33% to 25%
enhance the R&D tax credit and reward innovation
Mr Brennan, who works across both the United States and Ireland, acknowledged the efforts made over many years to make Ireland a leading location for foreign direct investment, but said Ireland does not have the luxury of assuming investment will find its way here in a post Pillar Two world with the global minimum 15% effective tax rate. He called on Government to use Budget 2027 as an opportunity to make urgent and meaningful changes in order to retain and attract future investment.
“Targeted changes and enhancements to tax reliefs along with a concerted effort to simplify complex tax rules would make a difference in Ireland. One way of doing that is to reduce the personal marginal rate of tax from 52.2% to 50%. Not only would it ease the financial burden on workers, but it would make Ireland more attractive for internationally mobile workers.
“We must also reduce the CGT rate to 25% as the current rate, which is among the highest in Europe, restricts external investment in Irish businesses, discourages owners from scaling or exiting firms, and limits SME productivity and export growth.
Mr Brennan acknowledged the improvements made to the R&D tax credit in last year’s budget and called on the Government to build on this progress. “Enhancing the R&D tax credit - through improvements to its subcontracting provisions - would send a clear signal that Ireland is committed to maintaining its competitive edge. Work to develop an ‘innovation incentive’, in recognition of the realities of today, must also continue at pace so that Ireland does not fall behind.”
Mr Brennan pointed to some of the changes which have been implemented in other jurisdictions as they try to enhance their own competitiveness. “We are seeing other jurisdictions use the levers available to them and we must do likewise. The US is now a significant competitor for R&D investment because of Pillar Two and the side-by-side package it has negotiated. Portugal is continuing to reduce its corporate income tax rate in stages. And the German government’s reform of income tax, due to take effect from next year, will reduce the financial burden on 95% of employees by several hundred euro a year, according to their finance minister.”
Mr Brennan added that the time for reform of Ireland’s taxation regime for interest was now. “We have to see meaningful reform of Ireland's tax interest regime. It’s widely acknowledged that the complexity of the regime is acting as a barrier to investment. In the two years since reform was first announced there has been widespread consultation but little progress to date.”
