David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is contained in its commentary. It then goes on to mention the property tax. Before doing that it states that the average income for the top 20% of households is more than five times the average income of the poorest 20% of households. This means that for a budgetary package to impose an equal percentage burden on each group, for every ¤50 million taken from the lowest income group, a further ¤250 million would need to be raised in taxes or benefit reductions from the top income group. The Government failed to take even a cent from the top earners through income tax. That clear choice was avoided and instead the Government has gone for an unfair, unjust, regressive property tax.

The ESRI refers to the options open to the Government for dealing with low income families which included the option of deferral and income related reliefs. It stated that income-related reliefs was a better and fairer option as comparisons were made with other countries across Europe which showed that income related reliefs, rather than deferrals, was the best way to protect low income families, especially as the Government is about to charge such families 4% interest because they simply do not have the money to pay for the family home tax.

I agree with Senator John Crown that one should go back to the starting point as to why we pay taxes. This is a tax. We pay taxes for the provision of services. For me, the principle of taxation is that it would be fair and progressive. How can anybody say that a family home tax which is based on the value of a property which is not linked to ability to pay is fair, where the combined income going into one house could be ¤250,000 per year and that family will pay ¤316 per year on average while a family with a total income of ¤80,000 will pay exactly the same amount? That means that low income families will pay the same amount as high income families unless those high income families live in mansions, of which there are very few.

It is interesting to note that when we speak about imposing a wealth tax we are told there is no wealth in the country and that such a tax cannot be imposed. Yet the same Labour Party and Fine Gael Senators say it was a victory that a mansion tax was included in the budget and that this would tax wealth. They also said it would take ¤500 million from wealth but when costed the take is only a fraction of that amount. One cannot say this tax is fair. Essentially, it is tax on the roof over a person's head.

Comparisons were made with the North. The rates in the North are too high and I would prefer if they were lower. I would like to have the taxation powers in the Assembly to enable us make the choices we would want to make. If the Minister of State was honest about the North he would admit that it does not have the same level of fiscal powers and responsibilities that we have in the State.