Shell to Sea Budget Press Release
national |
consumer issues |
press release 
Monday October 13, 2008 16:28
by Shell to Sea
Let Shell and its partners feel some pain in Budget 2009
SHELL TO SEA BUDGET PRESS RELEASE
Monday 13th October 2008-10-12
Let Shell and its partners feel some pain in Budget 2009.
Shell to Sea calls on Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan to re-introduce royalty payments on all oil/gas exploration companies operating in Ireland as the only way of ensuring a consistent flow of Revenue to the State from this activity. This would be the first step in the process of regaining control over our own natural resources.
Future liquidity of this country depends on the proper control and management of its assets. Now is the time to regain control and ownership of the country’s oil and gas for the benefit of everybody living in Ireland.
Any change in Corporation Tax rates for exploration companies (as recently introduced by Green Party Minister Eamon Ryan) can and will be neutralised through exploration programmes, transfer pricing and entity splitting.
Successive Finance Acts implement fiscal policy. In the current and future severe economic conditions there can be no excuse for allowing oil/gas exploration companies to continue making obscene profits immune from taxation while ordinary people are expected to take all the pain.
Comments (3 of 3)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3This gas giveaway is even more obvious now and once the Corrib comes on stream in whatever form that is, royality payments could go a long way to making up the deficit.
When the so called Celtic Tiger was booming, the govt were able to brush aside criticisms of the gas giveaway but hopefully the general public will wake up to the truly scandalous giveaway and now because of it, we are all going to suffer with lower levels of social services and higher levels of tax.
Allowing for Article 10 of Bunreacht na hEireann (Constitution of the Republic of Ireland), is the legislation connected with this giveaway constitutional?
For example, Article 10.1 reads:
"All natural resources, including the air and all forms of potential energy, within the jurisdiction of the Parliament and Government established by this Constitution and all royalties and franchises within that jurisdiction belong to the State subject to all estates and interests therein for the time being lawfully vested in any person or body."
Has Shell To Sea (or anybody else) looked into the constitutional aspects of the present legal arrangements being used to implement the "giveaway"?
If not, it might be a great mistake to simply assume that the legislation in question "must" be constitutional (just because it exists)?
Unconstitutional "law" -- and there's plenty of it about these days -- is illegal law; and, as such, it's use is not "valid" for any purpose other than corruption (and all of the many forms of serious crime closely associated with political, legal, and corporate corruption).
Related link: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Bunreacht+na+hEire...f&oq=
Stop throwing the Constitution (basic law of the land) in my face," Bush screamed back. "It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"
"Mr. President," one aide in the meeting said. "There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution."
"I don't give a goddamn," Bush retorted. "I'm the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way."
Related link: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=goddamned+piece+of...f&oq=
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