In amongst all the stories on the republic’s crisis a couple slipped out on the hearing of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of the House of Commons on Wednesday. As the Belfast Telegraph (that is behind the 12.5% tax for Northern Ireland campaign) notes:

A cut in corporation tax here would impede trade and encourage opportunist investors, a leading tax expert has warned.

Richard Murphy, director of policy group Tax Research, claimed the costs for administration alone would be “colossal” for companies trading in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Union leader Peter Bunting also raised fears about slashing the levy and called instead for investment to be channelled into growing firms already based in the province.

The pair were giving evidence yesterday at the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, which is investigating the impact of reducing the rate from 28% to bring it in line with the Republic at 12.5%.

They both roundly dismissed calls from MPs that it would have a major impact on attracting inward investment, warning it would only be the transient firms, not those committed to Northern Ireland that came.

The paper’s bias shows through in the article, but it concludes:

The committee was told that even if the rate was cut, Northern Ireland it would never be able to compete with the Republic because the UK Government |remains ultimately in charge.

The committee also heard there was a “real chance” of a cut being challenged under the Azores ruling, the European judgment that sets out the rules over the implementation of regional tax rates.

And that is fair comment and reflects my opinion.

The Irish Times also covers the story here.