Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to note I was discussing income tax. Of course everyone pays VAT, but about 30% of the 2.3 million people who work in Ireland do not pay any income tax. I support that wholeheartedly, because as I said to Senator Higgins earlier, we have a very progressive income tax system. It is the most progressive system within the OECD, though that is too often ignored by people with a different point of view than mine. The Senator described me as a conservative politician, but I consider myself a centrist. Tags such as conservative or liberal are irrelevant to me. We have a very fair income tax system, as I have said to the Senator on previous occasions. It is an appropriate system. The OECD considers our income tax system to be most progressive, as people who earn more pay more. In 2020, 1.5% of people will pay 26.5% of all income tax and USC. The highest form of wealth in this State is property, but the Senator's party disagrees with taxing that because it is populist. It is practically the only leftist party in Europe that does not support a wealth tax, which is mainly a tax on property.