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

When the Government wants to impose a property tax or force people to pay unjust water charges or the Department of Social Protection wants to means-test them, it is possible to put in place an invasive process to find out the value of people's property and so on, yet when it comes to finding out about the personal wealth of the super rich, we are told the process of compiling accurate information in that regard would be very complicated and difficult. That is not acceptable. We should find that accurate information. If the Credit Suisse report is even 50% right, it is shocking that the top 5% of people in this country hold 40% of the wealth, which amounts to just under €250 billion. Even a 0.5% tax on that amount could provide an alternative to unfair water charges, property taxes and other austerity measures. There are 88,000 millionaires, including 5,000 who have between €5 million and €10 million and 3,000 who have between €10 million and €50 million. This is extraordinary wealth, yet we are being told the imposition of a wealth tax would be too complicated a process.

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