Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We all appreciate the work of the Revenue Commissioners, and in fairness, on some issues where my colleague Deputy Doherty and others have identified unintended or unjustifiable tax breaks, the Department, the Minister and the Revenue Commissioners have acted. There are concrete steps that could be taken here that have been ruled out. For example in Britain all taxpayers with income over €100,000 have to fill out a tax return. That might merit consideration even at a higher level.

One of the striking parts of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report was how high the threshold in this State is to be considered a high wealth individual. At €50 million it is very high compared to €10 million in Spain or €5 million in South Africa. This threshold should be lower. Imagine what we would be looking at if there were cases of €20 million and €30 million being considered. The methods to reduce tax liability are well known to us. The use of credits and reliefs, in particular, serve an important role in reducing the tax burden for low earners but for high earners they should be phased out. The evidence points to tax avoiders having the upper hand in the race between the hound and the hare. The result is millions of euro foregone in tax that should be paying our nurses, being invested in our economy and reducing our debt. Will the Minister consult with the Revenue Commissioners in reducing the threshold and will he beef up anti-avoidance rules in the Finance Bill?

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