Results 6,801-6,820 of 36,355 for speaker:Pearse Doherty

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: We are not going to see eye to eye on the distributional impact of the measures we each propose but let us clarify two things. The Minister says that he did this because he wanted the 23% of income earners who pay tax at the higher rate to benefit because they will not benefit from the other measures that the Minister for Social Protection brought in. What measures that the Minister for...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: It is still okay for us to rely on the Tax Strategy Group papers, in particular table 5, which tells us that the number of income earners paying the higher rate of tax is 647,200, representing 23% of earners. Those figures are accurate.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Is it fair to say that medium individual earners are excluded from the benefits of this package, given that they were on €30,628 in 2019?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: We are discussing a tax measure worth €750 million. Would it be accurate to say that medium individual earners will not benefit from it?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister says that 10% more people will benefit than I say will, but will they actually benefit? Is it not the case that their tax credits will absorb their liability?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: In theory, or in Paschal's head, they will benefit and hundreds of thousands of people will be better off, but how much more cash will they actually have as a result of this measure?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: They will not benefit.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Yes.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: The Minister is now changing-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: You have-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: There is one matter that both of us should be able to settle on, namely, the accurate figures that come from the Minister's Department. The Minister keeps referring to average people and average earners. He has dodged the question, but it is the case that someone on a medium income will not benefit one cent from the increase in the standard rate cut-off point, a measure that will cost...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I appreciate that. The Minister disputes my figures, which are from his own officials and have been published in table 5 of the Tax Strategy Group's papers. The difference is that the group tells us that 647,000 will benefit. That is a lot of people, representing the top 23% of income earners. The Minister says that there are approximately another 400,000. In fairness, he also says that...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I would have to look at the categories in detail because there are average industrial earnings.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: The average earnings would be higher than the medium earnings.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I take the Minister's figures, and the medium earning was €30,000.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: Give me that again.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: No, I do not accept that because the Minister is looking at one measure in terms of the budget.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: He is. If the Minister wants me to swap seats with him and introduce a budget, I am happy to be scrutinised on all of that. The Minister knows that median earnings is an accurate way of looking at the reflection of wages in society and he has acknowledged that under the €750 million package somebody on €30,000 or €35,000 will benefit. He has also acknowledged that only...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Pearse Doherty: I am questioning the Minister on why he has decided to do that.