Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

The amendments before the House are the first of 61 amendments to be considered over approximately five hours. I am concerned that the House is being asked to deal on Report Stage with matters that were not discussed, or properly discussed, on Committee Stage. A similar approach was adopted during the consideration of the other two Finance Bills with which I have been involved in the House. We need to ensure that legislation is presented to the House in a different manner in the future.

Amendment No. 1 has been tabled to ensure that the Revenue Commissioners accept and react properly to problems that have already been highlighted, such as the overpayment of tax and the shortfall in the take-up of tax credits. It is unfortunate that the Minister has not taken the opportunity presented by the Bill to introduce small and simple measures to alleviate the problems caused by the overpayment of tax. I appreciate that the amount of money gained in this way is a small percentage of the overall tax take. Individual taxpayers expect that the Government will spend their taxes wisely, but there are many examples of that not being done. It is expected that everyone should pay tax according to ability to pay, so that the tax burden is not over-extended. The extent to which repayments of tax are being made within a short period of time is open to question.

We should examine the treatment of those who pay too much tax, which contrasts with the treatment of those who do not pay enough tax. I have suggested to the Minister that there should be equivalence, not only in terms of the level of interest paid on overpaid taxes, but in terms of the penalty clause that applies in such circumstances. The clause should apply to the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners just as it does to those who do not pay enough tax. I would like such proposals to be taken seriously in the future.

Those who do not benefit from tax credits fall into three categories. I accept Deputy Burton's argument that the Government should play a greater role in making people aware of the credits available to them. Individual credits do not apply to a large group of people because of such people's circumstances. I am part of a smaller group of people who are aware of the existence of particular credits, such as the tax credit for refuse collection, but have chosen not to benefit from them. A significant group of people has access to tax credits but do not benefit from them for many reasons. They may not know how to apply for the credits or they may choose not to apply for them because they have a fear of the bureaucracy involved in the process. The Minister needs to take some action in this regard. Amendment No. 1 attempts to address such matters.

To what extent is the budgetary analysis conducted in respect of taxation matters of this nature based on the expectation that small numbers of people will take up the tax credits made available under the tax system? Are the budget and the Finance Bill framed in the expectation that 10% or 20% of people will take up the tax credit for refuse collection, or a small percentage of people will benefit from the tax credit for health charges? Does the Government decide to sanction certain credits on the basis of their cost to the State if everybody who is entitled to do so takes them up? If its analysis is conducted in the latter manner, the Department of Finance must be confident that the Exchequer will retain a certain amount of money in the course of the budgetary year. I ask the Minister to comment on that aspect of the matter in his response to Deputies' contributions.

Deputy Paul McGrath's suggestion is in line with Green Party policy. The availability and take-up of tax credits could be dealt with more broadly if the taxation and social welfare systems were combined in a better way. Existing tax credits could be automatic, for example, or could be refundable if that were allowed by the individual taxpayer's circumstances. The information needed to make such changes is available, for example through the personal public service number system and the returns demanded by the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social and Family Affairs in respect of every citizen in the State. It should not be an administrative problem to ensure that the State can make elements of tax credits refundable if they are assigned but not fully availed of. Such a system would bridge the gap between the taxation and social welfare systems. The Green Party believes the gap is contributing to the increasing social gap between those who have higher than average levels of wealth and income and those who do not. I ask the Minister to address this point.

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