Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is dealt with on page 7 of the Revenue report. It states: "Employers of 24%of SARP claimants reported that they operated the claimant's payroll on a tax equalisation basis." That broadly means, as I said, that employees pay no more or less tax while on international assignment than they would if they remained in their home country. The company bears all the home and host country tax due. That is the point, which was repeated by the Commission on Taxation and Welfare to the Minister, namely, that this is a support for the corporate entity.

The Minister can accept or reject the findings and recommendations of the commission. I would not take that right away from him. However, the inequality that exists here is something I just cannot accept. Certain individuals are able to pay €108,000 less tax than anybody else. If we are telling the butcher, doctor, nurse or cleaner they have to pay either 20% or 40% tax, then we should not have a special rate for the highest income earners. A total of 50 people who earn more than €1 million are getting a tax break of more than €5.5 million between them. This is not acceptable in my book and, for that reason, I oppose the section.