Volkswagen in Slovakia
The German Wolfsburg-based carmaker
Volkswagen opened some years ago its second factory in
Slovakia concerned of the benefits it could get from it once this
country joined the EU. Wages in Slovakia are further lower than those of
any other country of the EU-15. Furthermore, since May 1st,
2004 Volkswagen doesn’t have to pay tariffs for importing cars to other
EU members, thanks to the Customs Union.
Thus, they have
started to produce in this factory new models such as the Touareg, and
it has also moved the production of other models such as the Polo or
even SEAT’s Ibiza, decreasing production of other factories that used to
be in Germany and Spain, respectively.
Merrill Lynch in Ireland
Some years ago, Ireland was considered to be
among the poorest countries of the EU (it was a member of the so-called
group of “PIGS”: Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain). However, during
the 1990s its government decided to change completely its taxing policy
and since then, hundreds of multinationals have moved to the Emerald
Island attracted by its taxing system. Thanks to that, and to its highly
qualified workers that speak English as a first language, Ireland has
become a small but dynamic trading economy. Its high dependence on
international trade makes it one of the most open economies in Europe.
Among all the companies that have installed
their European headquarters in Ireland, we can find Merrill Lynch. This
company is considered to be the tenth largest investment bank in the
World, and it manages over $500 billion in assets every year. The reason
why they established Dublin in 1995 as their main headquarters in the
Old Country instead of London, is quite simple: The corporate tax rate
in Ireland is only 10%, whereas in the UK it is around 30%.
The benefits of this operation can be simplified in
the following statement by Daniel P. Tully, Chairman and CEO of Merrill
Lynch: "We are delighted to be re-enforcing our long-standing
relationship with the Republic of Ireland through our plans to establish
a new capital markets operation. The availability of a skilled and
well-educated labor force and the favorable business environment created
by the Irish Government make this endeavor a natural fit."
|
