Twitter is establishing an international HQ in Dublin, following other digital groups including Google and Facebook.
The revelation of its Dublin expansion came in a tweet by Ireland’s Industrial Development Authority.
A spokeswoman for Twitter said: “The Twitter office in Dublin, our third location outside of the US, is a great next step in the company’s global expansion.”
The IDA is trying to make Dublin the social media and online capital of Europe.
Google set up 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.
Meanwhile, 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.
Ireland is attractive to multinationals because of its 12.5% corporate tax rate, but even more attractive because of “transfer pricing”.
This is a tax law which lets 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.
“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.
