Following international pressure, Ireland has announced that it will close a legal loophole that enabled Apple to save tax on $44 million of offshore income in the country’s first major step against corporate tax avoidance. Michael Noonan, Ireland’s Finance Minister, said that Irish registered companies could not remain “stateless” in terms of their tax residency. The move comes after Ireland was singled out by a US Senate committee earlier this year for acting as a conduit for Apple’s earnings so that the technology firm could sidestep tax payments around the world. However, the change to Irish law will not prevent multinational firms from engaging in the most common tax avoidance technique in Ireland (known as the “Double Irish”), which is where companies such as Google and the US software company Adobe Systems exploit the differences between the US and Irish tax codes to move profits to low tax jurisdictions. (Financial Times*; BBC)
Employees
Nuclear cleanup workers’ health suffering at Fukushima Daiichi
Following two accidents during the cleanup of the Fukushima Daiichi plant this month, one of which included six workers being doused with radioactive water, employees’ health is reportedly suffering owing to working conditions. Documents by the plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), show that between March 2011 and July 2013, 1,973 employees had been exposed to radiation doses in excess of 100 millisievert (mSv), the level at which many physicians agree that the risk of developing cancer begins to rise. Yukiteru Naka, a retired engineer with the US firm General Electric who runs a firm that provides technical assistance to Tepco, said that “for Tepco, money is the top priority – nuclear technology and safety come second and third. That’s why the accident happened. The management insists on keeping the company going. They think about shareholders, bank lenders and the government, but not the people of Fukushima.” (The Guardian)
Environment
Greenpeace seeks to end “reckless” fracking developments
Following UK residents’ campaign against fracking this summer, Greenpeace has launched a legal challenge to halt what it calls “reckless and presumptuous” plans for shale gas extraction across the UK. Under English law, land ownership rights extend to all the ground beneath a property, meaning that if a company drills under homes without householders’ permission, it can be construed as trespass. Kate Harrison, from the law firm Harrison Grant, said that “the common law on this is clear. If fracking companies don’t seek and receive permission for drilling under people’s homes they will be liable for trespass. Anyone living in an area that the government is considering for oil and gas drilling and possible fracking can join the block.” (Blue & Green Tomorrow; Business Green)
US newspaper bans letters from climate change deniers
The Los Angeles Times has announced that the newspaper will no longer print letters from readers that deny climate change. The Letters Editor of the paper, Paul Thornton, said that “saying ‘there’s no sign humans have caused climate change’ is not stating an opinion, it’s asserting a factual inaccuracy.” Julie Lewis, the Co-Editor of the Australian newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald, said that she is going to ask the paper’s readers what they think about such letters being published. This follows the announcement last month by the US magazine, Popular Science, that it was going to take away the comment function underneath its online stories because of concerns that “trolls and spambots” were skewing readers’ understanding of the issues being covered. (The Guardian)
Policy
UK Government launch task group to action zero carbon buildings policy
The UK Green Building Council has launched a new task group to help the building industry deliver the UK Government’s policy for all new non-domestic buildings to be zero carbon from 2019. As the UK Government has no clear definition of what zero carbon means for non-domestic buildings, the Task Group will aim to enable industry to investigate and recommend a way forward. Sarah Cary, the chair of the task group and a sustainable developments executive at the property development company British Land, said that “the implementation date for the zero carbon non-domestic 2019 policy is not very far away and the earlier we can get clarity on the definition, the better for industry. This group offers a chance for industry to set out what it thinks should happen next, and help build a strong business and economic case for action.” (Edie)
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