James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

It is easy to dismiss this Bill as merely technical but behind the imposition, repeal, remission, alteration and regulation of taxation, stamp duties and duties relating to excise and regulation of customs lies the face of human suffering. The word "taxation" is calculated to send a shiver down the spine of every citizen in the State. It will ruin the quality of life of every lower and middle income family in the country and see families forced to endure the heartbreak of losing their homes and children losing their schools, their summer holidays and even their toys at Christmas. It is the modern equivalent of the thief in the night.

The Bill is an exercise in closing any perceived loopholes that may have been created by recent ill-conceived budgets. It is also the statutory instrument that will give force to NAMA which may prove to be the final nail in the coffin of the country's finances. As proposed, the measures in the Bill will affect PAYE workers who received a bonus in the first four months of the year. It is intended to ensure those who are able to frontload their incomes in an effort to avoid higher levies will not be successful in doing so. Tax specialists have said that in the history of the country levies have never been backdated in the manner now enforced by the Government.

If there is a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel it is that the Bill should protect those who took redundancy payments before the new rates were introduced on 1 May. The plan to cut the interest charge on late tax payments is an appeasement measure by the Government, a move that will ease pressures on businesses. This concerns interest charged on late tax payments and underpayments and the cut will be in the region of 20%. The Bill proposes to introduce the new rate from 1 July and will reduce the interest charged in most cases to 8% per annum. This proposal was not part of the October or April budgets. One hopes it is a sign of a more cohesive plan by the Government to tackle the fallout of the economic downturn for businesses. However, it is regarded by the Small Firms Association as too little, too late.

I am pleased to see a measure in the Bill that will see an extension of the deadline for tax break applications under a scheme designed to boost tourist facilities in the midlands. This is the mid-Shannon tourism infrastructure scheme which was introduced last year following EU approval. I demand that it include County Longford which was omitted at the time. The current application deadline for projects under the scheme is 31 May which the Bill proposes to extend until the same day next year. Importantly, it also proposes to extend the period in which the money must be spent to 31 May 2013. These are important concessions for the midlands which has seen the Government sucking the life blood from its tourism industry. With County Longford designated as a tourism black spot, too high a price on the future of the midlands as a tourism destination was being sought by the Government. Tourism figures have been hard hit by such measures as the departure tax, increased stealth taxes, lack of broadband roll-out, substandard sewerage schemes, poor water quality and some of the worst roads in Ireland. At a time when tourist numbers are dropping alarmingly, with figures from the CSO showing a 19.9% drop in the number of trips to Ireland from North America in February 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, a 5.8% drop in the number of trips from the United Kingdom, and a 5.5% reduction overall, this sector is on its knees.

Easy access to the natural amenities and unique heritage of the counties that border the River Shannon and which have so much to offer tourists, anglers, boating and other sports enthusiasts would make a huge difference to local development. The midlands region is crying out for infrastructural development, having been overlooked for funding on so many occasions. It received a particularly raw deal in the national spatial strategy and Transport 21. It urgently needs improved access. The long promised rail lines between Killucan and Kinnegad and Athlone and Mullingar are still mere figments of the Government's imagination, while the Longford bypass and motorway project have yet to be delivered. The expansion of Abbeyshrule airstrip is essential to create a gateway to the midlands.

According to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, the Bill sets out a legal mechanism to increase the hit on workers' wages. Workers have yet to feel the full impact of the doubling of the income levy, as it only came into force on 1 May. Although it is quick to grab anything it can in increased taxes, the Government has failed yet again to get to grips with measures to stimulate economic growth. The biggest failure of the Bill is that it has not clarified some of the more controversial aspects of the supplementary budget. Despite publishing further details about proposed changes, it has not come to grips with exactly how some of the changes will be implemented. This begs the question of whether the Minister for Finance has any coherent idea of what he is doing. PAYE workers will be particularly lost in the haze of confusion as those without a filing obligation or required to submit a tax return at the end of the year do not know exactly what will be their liability. The Bill is the stamp on a budget which was designed to make taxpayers pay the price for the Government's drastic and disastrous failures during the past ten years.

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