Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It will come as no surprise that I am not supportive of this section, although this section restricts it somewhat and moves the lower threshold from €75,000 to €100,000. The relief due for an individual is still €108,000, however. There is a huge inequity in this because there is this wee special provision, that is even called "special" as it is the special assignee relief programme, for high income earners who come to work in this State where they can have their tax liabilities written down to the tune of up to €108,000. They can have their private school fees for their children of up to €5,000 for every child written off against their tax liabilities and they can fly home to their home countries with their families and have it written off against their tax liabilities. The fact that in the last year for which we have data, 50 people who earned more than €1 million shared €5.5 million of this tax relief between them is completely unfair.

I know a huge amount of families that are struggling and that struggle every year to send their kids to school and they would not believe it if they were told what Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have been doing in recent years with this provision for some people, the special people, to send their kids to a private school and write off €5,000 worth of fees against their tax liabilities. On top of that they pay an effective tax rate that is less than many people who are sending their children to school, be they nurses, gardaí or so on, and they can claim up to €108,000 of a relief. I have serious issues with this in terms of equity.

The Commission on Taxation and Welfare, a commission the Minister’s party leader stuck the boot into, which was deeply regrettable, called for changes to this. It called for a change and restriction in the higher effective tax rate and for a reduction in the upper threshold of €1 million, which has not been changed. It also called for some of the allowable expenses, including private school fees, to be restricted but none of that appears within the Finance Bill 2022. Why?

We have discussed this every single year and I will be voting against this because I find it difficult. I would find it difficult to go home to Donegal and say that I supported a measure that will allow somebody to write off his or her tax liability by more than €100,000 with all of these other benefits but that it is not available to other people. Others will pay their 20% or 40% tax rate and it is wrong and unfair. These are highly paid individuals and we should not have a special provision in our tax law that is not available to any other Irish citizen.