Dublin — Popular micro-blogging outfit Twitter, which commands around 100 million users, has confirmed that it has finally found its perch in Ireland’s silicon valley, and plans to establish its international headquarters in Dublin, as Ireland’s determination to maintain its low corporate tax rate reaps further reward.
The micro-blogging company joins other US technology big-wigs like Google and Facebook in a move disclosed by Ireland’s Industrial Development Authority.
The company has been expected to reveal the location of its headquarters outside of the US since 2010. The announcement of its Dublin expansion came in a tweet by Ireland’s Industrial Development Authority.
The company issued a short statement to The Irish Times: However, contrary to some reports, the new Dublin office will not be the new international headquarters, a spokeswoman for Twitter confirmed.
“The Twitter office in Dublin, our third location outside of the US, is a great next step in the company’s global expansion,” a spokeswoman said. “As our international presence expands, we will continue to assess the need to designate a location for our non-US headquarters.”
The company said it had selected Dublin after considering factors such as “available labor force, proximity to customers, IT infrastructure and related operational expenses”.
Ireland’s Investment and Development Agency (IDA), is trying to make Dublin the social media and online capital of Europe, and is assigned to attract foreign investment into the country, has focused on the wave of social media companies that have emerged from Silicon Valley.
Twitter: Ireland is attractive to multinationals because of its 12.5% corporate tax rate. Photograph: Jonathan Hordle / Rex Features
“IDA is absolutely thrilled that Twitter has decided to establish an international office in Ireland. Twitter is a fantastic addition to Ireland’s dynamic digital media cluster and we are excited to support the company’s continued international growth.” says Barry O’Leary, chief executive of the IDA.
Ireland is appealing to multinationals because of its 12.5% corporate tax rate, but even more tempting because of “transfer pricing”. This is a tax law which allow the likes of Google to legally shuttle profit into and out of subsidiaries in Ireland and on to tax havens. Google, which funnels all its European revenues through Dublin, pays 2.4% tax on operations outside the US.
Besides, a number of other technology firms, such as Google and HP, have set up offices in Dublin, which is subject to a considerably lower–12.5 %– corporation tax rate than in Britain, which is currently set at around 26 %. Hence, Twitter follows Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Zynga, the social gaming company, in establishing a base in Ireland.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton called Twitter “one of the most exciting and fastest-growing” companies in the world.
“Today’s announcement that it is to establish an international office in Ireland is a massive win and shows there is real ground for Ireland’s claim to be the internet capital of Europe,” Bruton said.
However, neither IDA Ireland nor Twitter would be drawn on how many jobs might be created in Dublin. Twitter currently has about 650 staff globally, according to its website.
Google, which established its international HQ in Dublin in 2004 with 200 members of staff. Now it is one of Dublin’s biggest employers with 2,200 employees. Besides, Facebook will employ around 300 by the end of 2012, LinkedIn 140. Zynga, which has just opened its European offices in Dublin, will hire about 100; PayPal employs about 1,300; while eBay has about 1,000 staff.
The micro-blogging is understood to have shortlisted a number of properties in Dublin 2 and Dublin 4, but it has not yet signed a lease on a property. Earlier this month a new Irish company, Twitter International Company, was registered at the offices of Dublin law firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice.
One of its directors is Ali Rowghani, the San Francisco-based chief financial officer of Twitter.
Twitter’s co-founder and executive chairman Jack Dorsey visited Dublin last October to attend the F.ounders and Dublin Web Summit conferences. Dorsey stated he was impressed by the entrepreneurial culture in the city.