GOVERNMENT REACTION:TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has welcomed the Commission on Taxation report as "an important and timely contribution" which was "setting the framework" for the reform of the taxation system over the next decade.
Mr Cowen, who was speaking during a visit to New Ross, Co Wexford, yesterday said the report “would be considered by the Government” in the weeks ahead, but that no decisions had yet been made on which of the “250 proposals” would be accepted.
Asked if he was keen to avoid the introduction of a property tax, the Taoiseach said there was “an inextricable link between the elimination of stamp duty and the introduction of a property tax”.
He said any changes to the taxation system, including property taxes, would have to be “fair and equitable”.
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said the report would play a role in stabilising the public finances, but stressed some of the key measures would take some years to phase in.
Mr Lenihan, who officially responded to the report on behalf of the Government, welcomed its findings and said it would set the framework within which tax policy will be set for the next decade.
“This report will play a role in stabilising our public finances and improving our competitiveness,” he said. He said the Government had already taken steps in this direction – tax and expenditure measures introduced in the past year have totalled almost 5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, he said.
“This report’s longer term strategic perspective and its focus on the future will help shape the taxation system for the next decade and beyond.
“Given that focus, the implementation of the many complex and often inter-related recommendations in the report are likely to be phased in over several years.”
Mr Lenihan made no comment on any of the specific tax reforms that have been recommended, although he has previously signalled that the Government will introduce a carbon levy and begin taxing child benefit in December’s budget.
Junior Coalition partners, the Green Party, pinpointed tax relief on high earners and the introduction of a carbon levy as the most significant features of the report.
The party’s finance spokesman Senator Dan Boyle, however, pointed out that some of the finding would prove contentious and differed from the policies of the Greens.
“The report should hopefully kick-start a debate in the wider public arena about how we can create a taxation system that is fair, efficient and helps to protect the environment and our natural resources,” he said.