The Luck of the Irish | Brad W. Setser | CFR

"Each attempt to tax the massive profits booked by Irish-shored multinationals has only expanded the system that allows them to be booked there in the first place."

...The net result has been, well, a steady rise in the profit the world’s multinationals report in Ireland, and a steady march up in Ireland’s corporate tax take. The Irish balance of payments data now shows that foreign multinationals (almost all American headquartered multinationals) report earning over $300 billion in Ireland—a remarkable sum.

Those “Irish” profits generated close to 35 billion euros ($38-39 billion) or so in Irish corporate tax revenue in 2025—with a little under half likely coming from just three companies (Apple, Microsoft and Eli Lilly, which replaced Pfizer in the top 3 a couple of years back) judging from past patterns.

Source: The Luck of the Irish