The President of the Workers’ Party, Michael Finnegan, has said that Junior Finance Minister Brian Hayes is quite
wrong to say that the government has reached the limit of how much taxation can be raised in this country as those with wealth
continue to escape paying their fair share.
Mr. Finnegan said that almost all the additional tax raised in this country over the past few years had come from
ordinary workers, including the low paid, while the golden-circle of wealthy individuals from senior politicians and company
CEOs to banking executives had paid little and in some cases no additional tax.
“While ordinary people are at breaking point when it comes to PAYE tax, levies, home taxes and other charges,
those at the top have been protected”, said Mr. Finnegan. “Two decades
of tribunals in this country correctly identified the fact that there was a Golden Circle who were above the law and were
able to amass huge wealth. These individuals played a huge role in causing the
economic collapse of five years ago and have come through the recession unscathed. It
is clear that the current government is not going to take them on”.
“Minister
Hayes is no doubt expressing Fine Gael policy in launching further attacks on the public sector including the fire-sale of
highly successful state and semi-state companies and assets which belong to the citizens of this country. The real test of this government will be whether the Labour Party, having backed the last two years of
vicious attacks on workers, the poor and the vulnerable, will now stand idly by and allow Fine Gael to sell irreplaceable
public assets to native and foreign speculators which will include many of those in the low-tax golden circle. Sadly it seems clear that Labour will not only stand by but will aid and abet the plundering of state assets
while continuing to let the super-rich pay as little tax as possible”, said Mr. Finnegan.
Issued
4th January 2013
