TAXATION:URGENT REFORM of the Irish tax system is required and that must mean more taxes and the jailing of bankers, developers and politicians, the Sinn Féin Ardfheis heard on Saturday.
Guest speaker Paula Clancy, director of Tasc (Think-tank for Action for Social Change) said a “new vision” was required to help create economic equality in Ireland.
Ms Clancy said that the Irish recession was the worst in the industrialised world. But that even in the good times no progress was made to tackle inequality. “Research by Tasc shows that the gap actually grew wider – we grew more unequal,” she said.
“We may be struggling with recession and unemployment and a lack of economic stability, but this is the moment to consider a new vision for Ireland – one that is rooted in the idea of wellbeing and of social wealth and recognises the ecological imperative of adopting a more sustainable approach to economic growth,” she added.
The financial deficit must be cut but it must not happen in such a “savage and quick” fashion that would make the situation worse and drive Ireland deeper into recession.
Tax reform must take place that was equitable, added Ms Clancy.
“As long as the better-off are shielded from tax by a glut of tax breaks, inequality will persist and public services will not be improved,” she said.
“Last year Tasc estimated that tax breaks cost the State €7.4 billion. Ireland’s use of corporation tax breaks alone is seven times the European average,” she said.
