Mr. Paul Ginnell:

It has examined the issue in great detail, including international examples of where a wealth tax currently exists. It suggests it would not been on lower levels of wealth but on assets of over €1 million, excluding certain types of assets such as the family home and so on. It would be kept at a low level, such as 0.5% of unearned wealth or income. Considering international examples, it was felt that it would not create a flight of wealth if the tax was kept at a certain level. It would be a self-declared tax. Over time, it would built up a certain amount of knowledge about wealth in Ireland, enabling us to make better policy in terms of how to address this into the future. Initially, it suggested a reasonably low level of tax on unearned wealth and a certain high threshold at which it would come into play. It would, over time, produce a level of information that could be used for future progression.

Initially, it would not bring a massive amount of revenue - it would be approximately €500 million - as it is very hard to estimate the amount of wealth that exists. The Central Statistics Office did some work on this last year based on older data. There is very little information on this type of wealth. Over time, one would build up a level of knowledge by having this system in place and this would allow something more comprehensive to be introduced in future. It is a way of building a level of knowledge and another area to look at with regard to wealth. A few years ago, the Government introduced the application of PRSI to unearned income, and that has begun to bring a little bit of focus on taxation or PRSI on forms of wealth apart from income.