THE north's reduced 12.5 per cent rate of corporation tax being ushered in during 2018 "will put us in the shop window", a top tax expert believes.
But he insists it "shouldn't be a standalone tool" in growing the Northern Ireland economy over the next decade.
"Cutting corporation tax rates may be the simplest and quickest way of making our region more competitive, but we need to offer much more," according to Malachy McLernon, chairman of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) Northern Ireland branch.
He was addressing the annual regional dinner in Belfast of CIOT, the leading professional body in the UK concerned solely with taxation.
He said: "Our members want more to be done to promote employment, with investment in skills and the driving down of other business costs and taxes as well as corporation tax.
"There is a need, for example, for further investment in particular in our export skills base, as well as for the removal of barriers to trade to help our businesses to compete on an international stage.
"Access to finance is also crucial, and we need better infrastructure, including broadband as well as transport networks."
Mr McLernon said tax advisers wanted the Stormont Executive to maximise the benefit of a lower rate of corporation tax by using it as the centrepiece of an ‘agenda for enterprise’ package, showing how the region is becoming more business friendly.
“The power to set corporation tax rates is an exciting opportunity," he said.
"A big rate cut will send a message that we see ourselves becoming a more entrepreneurial society with a growing private sector.
"But it should not stand alone. To achieve its full potential it should be used as the centrepiece of a broader ‘agenda for enterprise’ package showing how Northern Ireland is committed to increasing its competitiveness and reinventing itself as a leading location for international business.
“The metaphor I would use is that of a ‘shop window’ where the low rate of corporation tax is what grabs the attention of the international business community, and entices them into the shop to look more closely at the full range of what we have to offer."
The CIOT has indicated that it is keen to help in the tax devolution process in Northern Ireland.
Mr McLernon added: “There is a vibrant debate on how devolving greater tax varying powers could rebalance the UK economies and stimulate regional economic development.
“The CIOT has been closely involved in both the debate and the practicalities of tax devolution to Scotland, and now in Wales too. We are keen to help in this process in Northern Ireland too, in any way we can.”
