Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I welcome this proposal as it is time we decided on the exact definition of a tax exile. There are many such definitions. Is a person a tax exile if he or she is a member of the European Union but decides to live in Germany having made money in Ireland? Free movement of people, goods and services is part and parcel of what we voted for in regard to the European Union. We had better make up our minds on what exactly we mean by the term "tax exile".

When does a person become a tax exile according to the taxation code? We are living in different circumstances and we are no longer just a little island off the west coast of Europe. Is a person a tax exile if he or she made money outside Ireland while living here, or if that person moved out of Ireland to look after the business? Is a person defrauding the State of its taxes in such a case? There are many factors that one could question.

We should have a thorough examination of the matter and decide exactly when, where and how people should pay taxes, as well as what taxes they should pay. For example, if a person is fortunate enough to make much money here and in order to avoid paying capital gains tax decides to do a runner and live somewhere else, I would regard that as being disloyal and unpatriotic. On the other hand, if a person has a business outside the country and wants to manage it while still being able to return to this country, would that person be a pariah if he or she ran businesses in this country? A person may want to live closer to his or her businesses.

There are various reasons for people being in different categories. Should people who pay a certain amount of tax through their businesses here be treated differently in terms of the number of days they can spend here? I presume that if a person is running businesses here, he or she needs more time to come back and look after them than those people who want to spend half the year here, enjoy our services but not contribute anything. Surely there must be a difference between such people and those who return because they want to or are looking after businesses here.

If a person is genuinely running businesses here but working abroad, is it not better for them to be here for the 40 extra days spending money rather than having to stay away? We should have a mature debate. Nobody wants to defend people who want to avoid paying any sort of taxes in this country while at the same time availing of the services we provide. I hope nobody in this House would want that type of arrangement. Nevertheless, there are circumstances where good Irish people live abroad but still invest money and create jobs here. They want to return home like anybody else and look after their investments or spend a holiday here.

I very much welcome what Deputy Burton is attempting to do here in having an open and frank debate on how people qualify as tax exiles, or under what tax bracket people would be in. If a person is providing employment and investing in the country but happens to live in another country, he or she should be entitled to more days when looking after a business than the person with no investments and who wants to just avoid paying tax. A person from the European Union is entitled to be here all the time.

We are attempting to apply the same rules to everybody, which is not fair or reasonable. It is not fair to the people who have a commitment to the country and who wish to or continue to invest here while having businesses abroad that they must look after as well. The fact that such people create money abroad would help them to invest further in this country. We should have the debate and consider what bracket each group of people would come under but everybody should not be tarred with the same brush. That would be grossly unfair.

The singular regime taking into account the number of days one can spend in this country applies to everybody, irrespective of the circumstances various groups fall into. It is not a fair way to deal with the issue. As I indicated at the outset, we must also come to terms with our membership of the European Union. The Minister, Deputy Burton or I can live anywhere within the Union and return here as often as we like. That is what we signed up to.

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