Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Boyd Barrett's initial contribution put personal taxation and corporate tax in the same space. Personal taxation is a tax on income, and corporation tax is a tax on profits, so they are not comparable. It cannot be said that if one's personal income were reduced because one made a bad decision or bought a defective car, one should be able to write that off against one's income. We are talking about business taxes. In addition, the Deputy asserted that businesses can offset loans against tax liability. They cannot. They can offset losses, but not loans, against tax liability, so that is simply not correct. The general position is-----