Professor Alan Barrett:

We were asked to whom the extra taxes would apply and whether the tax should be a wealth tax. I assure Deputy Higgins that there is no ideological blockage hampering this committee. We would be perfectly open to exploring the type of wealth tax about which the Deputy talks. We would be responsible in doing so and we would want to explore fully all the implications. Some countries worry about wealth taxes if they mean discouraging people from saving for pensions, for example. There is a form of wealth accumulation that we want to encourage, and there is even an argument for incentivising some forms.

We would be quite practical in our views on all these matters. On occasion, it is suggested that there is an ideological blockage. I assure the Deputy that there is none and that we would look practically at all possibilities to ensure the austerity policy is successful and as fair as possible.