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

The Minister did not really explain the point that the Comptroller and Auditor General made, which is a serious issue. Somehow, 90 of the richest individuals with extraordinary wealth, €50 million on average, are paying less or about the same tax as the average industrial worker. Something is wrong there. That speaks to another fact which is that, overall, income inequality in Ireland before social transfers is pretty high by international standards. This point has been made by the CSO and others. If there are high levels of income inequality to start with, one ends up with even higher levels of wealth inequality over time. That is very evident with the CSO again confirming that the richest 10% have 54% of the wealth. That is in line with an international pattern where wealth and income are becoming more and more concentrated in the hands of the top earners. Wage share as a share of national income is falling consistently, and Ireland is seeing one of the biggest falls. I am trying to say there is something wrong with that trajectory and that we need radical measures to address it. That means radically shifting the balance of taxation when one is earning over €100,000. It is important to say that for the earnings lower than that, people will benefit from not having to pay USC or property tax and so on. It tries to shift the balance radically so there is a very steep cliff once one goes over the threshold of €100,000.

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