Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Yes. The response from the Minister for Finance was that the process was too complicated.

On the issue of a wealth tax, the answer, as we stated explicitly, was that we need a comprehensive register of wealth and assets to identify how wealth is distributed. All we have, however, are Central Bank figures which show the overall quantum of wealth, how much of it is financial and how much is household wealth and what are the liabilities. We do not know the distribution of household assets that are valued at €447 billion. We need to know how these assets are distributed in order that we can have a progressive taxation system that targets accumulated wealth. There is by international standards a significant quantum of household wealth in this small country. If one divides the figure by the population, as has been done, one finds that Ireland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. This position is not borne out by our levels of poverty, however, and for this reason it is necessary to carry out a serious study to identify how wealth is distributed. This would enable us to implement a targeted wealth tax.

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