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

This is the story that is not being told. They went through the roof to astonishing levels. In 2011, gross trading profits were €73 billion. Does the Minister know what they were in 2015, according to latest figures from Revenue? They were €144 billion. Is that not extraordinary? How much tax was paid on that €144 billion in 2015? It was €6 billion on €144 billion pre-tax profit, before all of the allowances, deductions and loopholes that allow them to write down their tax liability, including managerial expenses and research and development tax credits, so they end up paying nothing. In the case of the banks, it was literally nothing. In the case of the vulture funds that gobbled up all the property the Government gave to them, it was literally nothing. They pay 5% and not 12% or 12.5% tax. What about the 1,330 individuals in this country who have more than €20 million to €50 million each, which jumped 6.4% last year? The Government will not talk about taxing them or financial transactions. What about €6 billion in debt repayments we will make this year, which add up to 14% of Government revenue? These are the elephants in the room. If the Minister tapped these resources we would have the money to deal with the social crisis and the economic crisis being faced by the State.

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