Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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152. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the recent Tax and Welfare Commission Report’s findings that wealth and capital taxes should increase materially as a proportion of tax revenues; his plans, if any, to increase such taxes in order to put the public finances on a sustainable footing as outlined in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46204/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Commission on Taxation and Welfare was an independent group that was established in April 2021 as a result of a commitment in the Programme for Government. It was asked to independently consider how best the taxation and welfare systems can support economic activity, and promote increased employment and prosperity while ensuring that there are sufficient resources available to meet the costs of the public services and supports in the medium and longer term.

‘Foundations for the Future’, the Report of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare, was published on 14 September. It is a wide ranging report that contains over 500 pages and 116 recommendations relating to the future of our taxation and welfare systems. It is available to download at the following link: gov.ie - Report of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare (www.gov.ie).

The report poses serious questions that we as a society must carefully consider. The recommendations will foster real debate around how we reform our tax and welfare systems over the longer term in order to safeguard their sustainability and adapt to a rapidly changing environment. This important work is focused on the longer term and will contribute to debates on the optimal balance of taxation for many years to come.

It is clearly set out in the Commission’s report that the recommendations are not intended to be implemented all at once, but rather provide a direction of travel for this and future Governments around how the sustainability of the taxation and welfare systems may be improved in a fair and equitable manner.

The Commission’s recommendations, including those concerning wealth and capital taxes, are significant and wide ranging, and it is important to allow time for detailed consideration. As is acknowledged in the report, the recommendations come at a challenging time economically.

It is my intention to provide an initial response to some of the Reports recommendations as part of the upcoming budget and over the medium term my Department will consider the recommendations of the Report in detail.

It would not be appropriate for me to speculate on what specific elements of the report I might act on in advance of that process which will be concluding over the coming weeks.