Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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I take the witnesses' point that not only is it difficult to understand what effects on revenue these taxes or changes in welfare would have, but also how they would interact with one another. In the course of our previous sessions and this meeting, we have discussed EU norms and what other countries are doing. It seems that, like every country, Ireland's tax system does better in some areas than in others and applies higher taxes here and lower ones there. The commission has recommended that we move more in line with EU norms in respect of some areas. From the helpful table supplied by the witnesses, we know that land, other property and wealth would be large income generators. We have good statistics in terms of income equality after tax, in that the gap between rich and poor is somewhat equalised. Do the witnesses have a sense that some of the measures recommended by the commission would negatively impact that balance or that, given how they are related to capital and wealth, a change is unlikely? They are less governed by income.