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2009

A Fair Budget means Wealthy must Pay More

Date Released: 02 Dec 2009

Congress General Secretary David Begg said today (Dec. 2) that Government must now “choose between continued deference to the very wealthy or genuine support for low to middle income earners and the vulnerable in Irish society.”
 
Speaking at the launch of the Congress pre-Budget Submission, Mr Begg said new taxes on wealth could “generate substantial new resources for the state. We no longer have the luxury of maintaining the fiction that all the wealth in this country has suddenly evaporated. It has not and, in the interests of wider society, it must be pursued and taxed.
 
“Our own figures show there is real scope for raising substantial sums in this area – perhaps as much as €2.3 billion in 2010 and more in the years ahead.
 
“We’re talking about a new top rate for high earners, a new rate of minimum tax for the wealthy, pursuing tax exiles and raising Capital Gains. These are just a few examples from a range of options we have compiled.”
 
Read the document "Areas Where Tax Can and Should Be Raised in Budget 2010"

Mr Begg also said that if Budget 2010 was to have any hope of assisting a general recovery in the economy, it would have to make job creation and protection a centrepiece.
 
“Last week Congress held a Jobs Conference in Dublin, at which we heard speakers from Germany, Holland and Denmark outline how their countries have successfully tackled unemployment. There is nothing – apart from an absence of political will – to stop us learning from their good example and adopting similar schemes.
 
“Equally, we have published proposals detailing how several thousand new jobs can be created in the ‘green economy’ and have also proposed a National Recovery Bond to assist the construction sector, create jobs and address deficits in our infrastructure.
http://www.ictu.ie/publications/fulllist/congress-green-shoots-document-nov-09/
 
Mr Begg said Congress also believed that homeowners in difficulty with mortgage repayments, should have recourse to a “NAMA-style scheme that addresses their problems and allows them to stay in their home. It is not good enough to bail out banks and ignore homeowners,” Mr Begg concluded.

Read the full Congress Pre-Budget Submission 2010





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