The United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has described Ireland as his favourite “tax scam” in a recent podcast interview, adding that it’s to America’s detriment and that “that’s gotta end”.
Speaking to hosts Chamath Palihapitiya and David Friedberg on the All-In podcast, Mr Lutnick said that “we’re going to try to fix a whole bunch of these tax scams”.
“Ireland is my favourite,” Mr Lutnick said, continuing “the country of Ireland last year had a $60 billion dollar budget surplus. So we lose two trillion and they make 60. You’d say, ‘Ireland, what do they do?’ Oh, they have all of our IP…all our great tech companies and great pharma companies. They all put it there because it’s low tax, and they don’t pay us, they pay them. So that’s gotta end.”
In 2024, Ireland recorded a budgetary surplus of approximately €25 billion, a figure that was boosted significantly by the €14 billion Apple tax windfall, which the country collected as a result of an EU ruling in September.
Mr Lutnick has previously taken aim at Ireland’s trade relationship with the US, saying in the run-up to the American presidential election last year that it’s “nonsense that Ireland of all places runs a trade surplus at our expense”.
Similarly, speaking on Bloomberg Surveillance in October last year, Mr Lutnick took aim at Ireland’s role in profiting from American multinational corporations, such as Apple.
“He’s [Trump] going to encourage people to build here and pay taxes. Let’s go over what Apple does right now. This is a simple example. They make the parts in China. They put the parts together in Taiwan. Then they wave their magic wand and it floats over Ireland – of course it floats over Ireland, because that’s where Apple does its products – and then it comes to America and they make, I don’t know, something like three percent profit in America.
“They pay corporate tax on three percent profit in America and Ireland announces a massive budget surplus for their five million people. Ha ha. It’s just not true,” Mr Lutnick said on that occasion, adding, “Why is Ireland announcing a surplus? Oh give me a break. It’s all our business”.