NI Conservatives Chairman, Irwin Armstrong has defended the call from six leading business organisations for a cut in Corporation Tax after they were criticised by a Norfolk based accountant.
"The Conservatives in Northern Ireland have been in the vanguard of the moves to have the power to cut Corporation Tax devolved in the NI Assembly and we welcome the backing of the CBI, IOD, the Chamber of Commerce, NIIRTA and others for our campaign. Owen Paterson, the Secretary of State has lead the way on this issue since he came to Northern Ireland and I am sure he will be equally delighted to know that we have the support of these organisations for this campaign"
"They are endorsing our campaign using their personal experience in business and their consideration of detailed studies such as that carried out by the NI Economic Reform Group. We value their input."
"I question the prominence given by the BBC to a Norfolk based accountant. Mr Murphy's work and blog is supported by the TUC and the Public and Commercial Services Union but I am not sure that qualifies him to be classified as a 'leading tax expert ' on the results of lowering Corporation Tax, when compared to the local tax experts and economists involved the NI Economic Reform Group who spent many months researching the subject. His assertion that the lower tax rate in the RoI had little impact on employment is quite laughable.
"As a businessman who has been heavily involved in setting up and growing businesses throughout my working life I certainly value the opinion of these organisations more than Mr Murphy."