2026-06-25

14. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will introduce a wealth tax in budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48192/26]

Eleven Irish billionaires now own more than wealth than two thirds of the population. Half of the population owns less than 10% of the total wealth. It is time for a wealth tax. A wealth tax on the richest 1% could raise €9 billion. At a time when so many people are suffering in one of the richest countries in the world, is it not time to introduce one?

I thank the Deputy. As he will be aware, wealth is already taxed in a number of ways in Ireland. These include capital gains tax, CGT, capital acquisitions tax, CAT and local property tax. Stamp duty also acts as a tax on wealth, including that charged on the acquisition of shares, stocks and marketable securities of Irish registered companies, and on the acquisition of property both residential and non-residential. The revenue raised from a wealth tax, regardless of the form it takes, may not be additional to that raised by the existing forms of wealth taxation, as the revenues from those taxes could be impacted by the introduction of a wealth tax. In looking at the question of wealth taxes, the Commission on Taxation and Welfare's 2022 report identified challenges that would impede the implementation of a wealth tax. Its conclusion was that a new tax on net wealth should not be introduced without first attempting to substantially amend Ireland’s existing taxes on capital and wealth. The commission argued that, as an alternative to introducing a new tax on wealth, CGT and CAT could be re-examined. These are existing taxes on wealth that have well-established but distinct bases and are well understood in their operation. A 2024 report by the Parliamentary Budget Office entitled “An Overview of Taxes on Wealth in Ireland" noted, among other things, that a specific wealth tax risks an increased concentration of overall tax receipts on a relatively small proportion of taxpayers. It proposed base-broadening measures to increase the number of taxpayers and to diversify revenue sources. It is important to note that Ireland has one of the most progressive taxation systems and social transfers of any EU or OECD country, which contributes to the redistribution of income and the reduction of income inequality. In 2016, my Department worked with the ESRI to conduct a research project into the distribution of wealth in Ireland and the potential implications of a wealth tax. Recognising the passage of time that has elapsed since this research project was undertaken, the ESRI is currently conducting analysis under its joint research programme. This will include scenario and distributional analysis under a range of wealth tax scenarios. A draft paper will be completed before the end of the year and I will consider the analysis in due course. I do not plan on introducing a wealth tax in budget 2027.

We heard this week from Barnardos that, in Ireland, one of the richest countries in the world, 30% of parents say they do not have enough food to feed their children. A total of 44% of parents - almost one in two parents - said they have to cut back themselves so that their kids have enough to eat. That is at one side of the pole of Irish capitalism. On the other side is the 11 billionaires who are richer than 66% of the population. Eleven people are richer than two thirds of the population put together - 3.5 million people. That is up from nine billionaires in 2024. The richest two billionaires have more wealth than the bottom 50%. That is an Irish expression of a global trend, where billionaire wealth grew three times faster in 2025 than the average annual rate of the previous five years. We now have the world's first trillionaire, although, because of the share prices, he may not be a trillionaire at this moment, but it speaks to the massive inequality. A wealth tax, a tax on assets of the multimillionaires and billionaires in this country, is one way to begin to tackle this inequality and to put money back into people's pockets.

I thank Deputy Murphy for his contribution. I have already outlined the Commission on Taxation and Welfare's 2022 report and the issues that it suggested would impede the implementation of such a tax, as well as the Parliamentary Budget Office report from 2024. I have also outlined how we have one of the most progressive taxation systems and social transfer systems in the EU and the OECD and the research work being carried out by the ESRI. I have no doubt that this is an issue Deputy Murphy will return to again when we have a longer time to discuss it and engage.