Aubrey McCarthy (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the news today that the national planning framework, NPF, which I spoke about last week, has been approved by Cabinet today. Now we just need to get it approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas without any delay so we can focus on housing and the need for housing, as we have outlined several times.

The Chamber also needs to address, on a separate note, the inequalities, which have been mentioned here before, that are embedded in our inheritance tax laws. Under current statutes, there is an unfair burden on those who are single and without children.It is clear those who are unmarried and without direct descendants face significantly higher tax rates when passing on their estates. Unlike married individuals or parents, they are offered little relief regardless of their lifelong contributions to society. This is not a matter of tax efficiency. It is just a matter of fairness. A single childless person who has worked diligently all his or her life, who has paid his or her taxes, is doing as much as his or her colleagues who are married or are parents and has built assets over a lifetime should not be penalised for his or her individual circumstances. Such a person is often left with no option but to leave the estate to a friend or extended family member, who then has to pay the highest rate of tax. This disparity in the law is discriminatory and imposes a financial penalty on people who want to bequeath their life's work to friends. It effectively values one citizen differently to another.

The tax code should not be a tool of social preference. It should be neutral, fair and respectful of all individuals. I urge the Government to consider reforms of the inheritance tax policy that will eliminate this unequal treatment and ensure all citizens are given equal dignity in life and death.