Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I move amendment No. 74:

In page 81, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following:“66.The Minister shall, within nine months from the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on options available for the introduction of a comprehensive asset tax otherwise known as a wealth tax, the report shall include options for the collation of data necessary for the assessment of such a tax, definitions of categories of wealth to be included in such a tax, proposals for the assessment and collection of the proposed tax and estimates of potential revenue raised at various rates of taxation.”.

A couple of months ago, David McWilliams presented an interesting show, broadcast on RTE, called "Ireland's Great Wealth Divide," and some of the statistics he presented were very interesting. According to the figures he presented, the most affluent 20% in the State own 73% of the State's wealth, while the poorest 20% in the State had 0.2% of the wealth of the State. By any judgment, this divide is severe and shocking. He also stated that the combined wealth of the top 5% was almost double that of the entirety of middle earners - that is, the squeezed middle. According to Revenue data, the top 1% of income earners in Ireland had an average income of €373,300 on an annual basis, whereas the bottom 90% earned approximately €27,000 per year. Members are not discussing normal times by any means. They are not talking about the 1970s or the 1980s or the normal left-right or rich-versus-poor debate. This is about a modern phenomenon of incredibly concentrated wealth in the hands of extremely few people. This has happened under the Minister's watch in recent years and many would state that it has accelerated under his watch.

The idea of a wealth tax is not new. Interestingly, the Aire made an important and true statement yesterday, when he noted that there was a difference between wealth and income. There is a significant difference between the two, and therefore there must be a method whereby both income and wealth are taxed. There is a strong body of opinion worldwide to the effect that for those who have a high level of wealth, perhaps in excess of €1 million, that is not concentrated in farms or businesses, the wealth itself can offer an opportunity to source income for the State and can be used to address the inequalities within the State. The Nevin Institute calculated, on the basis of 2013 data from the Central Statistics Office, that a wealth tax which excluded people's homes, farmland, vehicles and pensions and which was levied at a rate of 0.5% could raise approximately €400 million per annum. In a response to a question from Deputy Pearse Doherty in the Dáil Chamber a year or two ago, the Minister admitted that this was the ballpark figure. Given the catastrophic division between rich and poor and given the life-and-death challenging experiences of many people at the bottom, would it not be a good idea to accept this amendment? This amendment does not proceed as boldly as to suggest that a wealth tax should be implemented. All it seeks is for a report to be written on the options available in this regard. In other words, the Minister is merely being asked to research the options available in order that he might have the possibility of another tool in his toolbox regarding the raising of revenue.