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Oxfam on Irish super-rich, medicine shortages, and film tax credits

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Activists take part in a protest against the World Economic Forum, calling for a climate tax on the rich. An Oxfam report just published details how the super-rich have increased their wealth over the past decade. Photograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Ciarán Hancock's face
Ciarán Hancock
Mon Jan 16 2023 - 06:49

The number of Irish with individual wealth of more than $50 million (€46.6 million) more than doubled between 2012 and 2022, according to a new report by charity Oxfam that is designed to highlight inequality on the eve of the World Economic Forum being held in Davos, Switzerland. Ian Curran reports.

In the first of our personal finance Q&As this week, a reader wonders if renting out the house of his mother, who is unwell and living with his sister, could have tax implications down the road and possibly impact on her being able to access the Fair Deal scheme. Dominic Coyle offers some guidance.

If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your pocket try signing up to On the Money, the new weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers. In the latest edition, we look at how a renters can trim up to €1,000 off their tax bill thanks to Budget 2023 measures that have taken effect.

Ireland is paying around half the price of other EU states for a range of common medicines, many of which are out of stock in this State, according to data compiled by Azure Pharmaceuticals. The result is shortages for patients here “as manufacturers choose to maximise returns through supplying higher price markets”. Dominic Coyle has the details.

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Amid evidence of private landlords exiting the market due to what they regard as high taxation and onerous regulations, the Irish Property Owners Association has called for the tax on rental income to be more than halved and for regulations on new tenancies to allow for current market rates to apply rather than those set years ago. Patsy McGarry has the details.

Ireland has been missing out on big-budget productions of movies and TV shows from streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime because a cap on a tax relief scheme was too low, the Minister for Culture Catherine Martin told then Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe in the run up to Budget 2023. Ken Foxe reports on the correspondence, which he secured under FOI legislation.

Bord Bia last week reported record food and drink exports, which should have been a cause for celebration among food producers. Instead, representatives for the dairy sector were critical of the impact that new regulations designed to help us meet our climate change targets could have on what is the most productive sector within Irish farming. In his weekly column, Eoin Burke-Kennedy explains the backdrop to the discord and ponders how the Government might square the circle.

Separate reports from PwC and Avolon highlight how the rebound in air travel post Covid is likely to gain further momentum this year but major investments in sustainable aviation fuels will be needed if the sector is to meet its net zero carbon target by 2050. Ian Curran reports.

In our Opinion piece, Avolon chief executive Andy Cronin expects air travel to hit pre-pandemic levels in June, spurred by the opening up of the Chinese economy and the relaxation of border restrictions there but adds that the sector needs to make greater progress addressing concerns about its long-term environmental impact.

Yoga studies, nail bars, beehives and Ottolenghi-style restaurants are just some of the incentives being offered by City of London law firms in a bid to hire new talent and lure staff back to the office, according to a report from Kate Beioley and George Hammond of the Financial Times.

Ireland has become “less attractive” to foreign technology workers in recent years, a new study from recruiter Morgan McKinley has suggested. Ian Curran has the details.

Inflationary pressures in Northern Ireland moderated last month but business activity levels plunged at their fastest rate since February 2021, pointing to a “difficult end” to the year for company, an Ulster Bank report indicates. Ian Curran reports.

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