CORI Calls For Higher Taxes To Boost Irish Infrastructure

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

29 October 2002

In a position paper released yesterday, the Justice Commission of the Conference of Religions of Ireland (CORI) called for higher taxes in the interests of social equality, and in order to improve the jurisdiction's infrastructure.

The paper, issued prior to the commencement of talks on a successor to the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, observed that: 'Ireland's total tax take is low by EU standards. While Ireland's average per capita income is well above the EU average, its infrastructure and social provision are far below EU averages,' a conclusion which was later supported by Justice Commission spokesman, Fr Sean Healy, who revealed that while average tax and social insurance revenue collected across EU member states amounts to around 42% of GDP, in Ireland the tax take is just 34%.

'If Ireland is ever to have EU levels of infrastructure and social provision it must move towards a tax-take level closer to the EU average,' Fr Healy told the Irish Examiner. 'I'm not saying we go all the way to match the EU average but, even if you moved it a couple of percentage points, it would give off the resources to make available the level of housing, public transport, welfare and other services we would argue Irish people want.'

Suggestions made by the Commission for increasing the revenue collected in Ireland included a variety of eco-taxes on consumption and waste production, a land rent tax, and taxes on currency transfers made by speculators.

It also argued that: 'No evidence of substance exists to support the contention that corporations would leave Ireland if the corporate tax rate were higher - at 17.5 per cent, for example, as against the current target of 12.5 per cent. While we accept that commitments entered into should be honoured, we strongly urge that a higher corporate tax rate form part of medium-term tax policy strategy.'

However, given that low corporate taxes were the cornerstone of Ireland's phenomenal growth during the 1990s, it seems unlikely that the government will pay any heed at all to this proposal, although it has hinted that some tax increases may be on the cards in the future.

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