Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

No. The Minister has sought to ensure that some banks will pay a minimum amount of tax, but they will be entitled to set off their full losses, whatever way they value them, as will developers. Therefore, for many people in that situation, it may be 30 or 40 years before they every pay tax again, other than nominal amounts they choose to pay under the arrangement the Minister set out previously.

In contrast with administrations around the world, there are no proposals from the Minister to introduce tax curbs on the supersized remuneration packages of top executives or those working in financial services. Nowhere does the Bill contain measures to crack down on the dubious remuneration schemes that incentivise short-term risk taking or maximising lending. It is quite clear the Government has failed to learn from the mistakes of the past. Barack Obama and Gordon Brown are getting tough on bankers and speculators who are determined to carry on as if the financial crash never occurred. By contrast, this Finance Bill will introduce incentives for senior executives to trade Wall Street and the City of London for the banks of the Liffey. This is something that needs to be spelled out in some detail. What are the advantages to us and what are the costs? What are the implications for our reputation and for tax revenue?

Section 152 relates to the levy on judges and is structured in a way which provides that judges can make a donation to the Government. I repeat what I said before. Why does the Minister not legislate in this regard? He could then let the judges who object to being treated like their fellow citizens take a court case. There is nobody better to take a court case and they have done so in the past. If the Minister legislated, that would mean judges, as citizens, would be treated as all other citizens have been treated.

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