Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are not going to see eye to eye on this issue but investors know that if we put this measure into the Finance Bill it will not scare the horses. They know the political make-up of this Dáil. They know that Fianna Fáil will protect the wealthy at all costs, and indeed their partners in government will do the same. Therefore, as long as the two main parties carve up power in the State it is unlikely that we will see a wealth tax, which was applied here previously. There was one in the early 1970s and it was abolished due to the cost of collection. It was a time when people did not make payments by electronic means and it was not possible to gather information in the way it is today.

There are wealth taxes in other jurisdictions. There are different ways to introduce and structure a wealth tax. From my point of view a wealth tax should do two things. First, it should either bring in additional revenue to the State or, second, it should lead to behavioural changes within the State. That is why in our legislation we had excluded investment in private trading companies and business assets that led to employment generation from the calculation of the wealth tax. I agree with Deputy Michael McGrath that if people who have wealth invest it into businesses in this State then of course they should not be taxed again. What we want to do is make sure the wealth is being used for productive means, and if is not, it should be taxed for the benefit of individuals within the State. Therefore, a tax can do two things. It can collect revenue or lead to behavioural change. If a wealth tax did not bring in anything but made sure non-active wealth in the State was channelled into enterprise, business and investment in the State that would be a win in itself.

That is the type of model we have outlined in our explanatory note and the legislation we published a number of years ago.

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