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SINN FÉIN’S PEARSE DOHERTY said it “doesn’t surprise” him in the least that Simon Harris is looking to “favour those who are coming into large wealth” by floating the idea of inheritance tax changes in this year’s budget.
Responding to a question from The Journal on whether October’s budget will see changes to the tax, Harris said yesterday:
“I do think inheritance tax is a legitimate point for consideration in the budget because obviously it has a real impact on a son or daughter, nephew or niece trying to basically move into the family home.
“At a time when we’re trying to come up with a wide variety of housing solutions I do think we do need to be mindful of the fact that house prices have risen and inheritance tax hasn’t.”
He added that the issues around “unfairnesses” and “anomalies” with inheritance tax, as well as issues around inheriting farms needs to be considered.
Under the current rules, children are able to inherit €335,000 from their parents before they have to pay tax at 33%.
Sinn Féin, in its last alternative budget, proposed to increase the rate of inheritance tax by 3%, from 33% to 36%.
Doherty confirmed that increasing the rate is still the party’s policy, stating:
It doesn’t surprise me in the least that Simon Harris is going to actually use some of the resources of the state to actually favour those who are coming into large wealth.
He added that Sinn Féin has a different set of priorities, adding that his party doesn’t aim to target somebody who wants to inherit more than €335,000.
Doherty says Harris seeks to 'favour those coming into large wealth' with inheritance tax change https://t.co/pqYyHaUCiP pic.twitter.com/tA1bWigTnI
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) July 17, 2024
“We’re going to be looking at the person that doesn’t even have a sniff of €300,000. They’re looking at actually, how do they pay the bills at the end of the week, and how do we make the resources that are available to the state to lift the pressure off them.
“It’s about stripping out the costs in childcare and health and third level education and secondary and primary level education. It’s about putting more money in their pocket with substantial cuts to the USC. It’s about making sure that our pensioners and those social welfare dependents have got the right resources,” he said.
His party would like to see at least a €12 increase in pension payments and core social welfare payments, said Doherty.
“It’s all about choices,” he said.
In an interview with The Journal in 2022, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald spoke about recommendations that were contained in the Commission of Taxation report – which recommended increase in inheritance tax take.
At the time, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said some of the recommendations were “straight out of the Sinn Féin manifesto”.
McDonald said the commission were proposing “a very dramatic and steep increase in that tax. So we’re not proposing that, that’s not our position”.
In the 2022 interview, McDonald said:
“We totally understand that families want to look after their loved ones, their kids, their grandkids… Where you have active farmland and where it’s a working asset, of course that has to be protected from inheritance tax.
“But we also have to recognise that we live in a society where some people for generations are caught in a particular experience of having less, or even living in poverty, and then other people just by where you’re born and who you’re born to, you have a better chance. And I think the the taxation system has to correct for that.”
“The area of taxation, like others, you have to always test for equity,” she added.
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There is an adjoining report that Harris states that ‘you can’t pitch a tent anywhere you want’.
I have a question: when these tents are distributed, are those they are given to told where they can be pitched?
I have another: is there anywhere where they can be pitched that is acceptable to the government?
And who is paying for these tents anyway?
The government, via ‘charities’, on behalf of the taxpayer?
The government, which then destroys those tents within hours of distributing them?
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: they are pitched up in Milltown now making camp.
@Sean Money: @Sean Money: Do you know if there is anywhere these can be pitched that is acceptable to the authorities?
If not, then why are these being distributed?
Are our government departments really *that* disfunctional?
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: exactly they are in cahoots with the tent makers, millions spent on tents now
See this ffg governments will never and I mean never stop pollution of everything for profit ,
@Robert Halvey: Bet they sell the fish too!!
Slurry, I suppose. Farmers, I suppose.
The reason it was only reported yesterday is because nobody works the weekend
I don’t see pike on the list. Probably being killed off by the angling clubs. They kill pike all over Ireland seemingly with the blessing of the IFI. Taking out the predators leaves weak and sick fish to spawn. In turn making the fish sizes smaller in the rivers. You don’t take a predator out of a habitat
@Michael o Dwyer: it’s not the clubs killing them off, it’s the international fishing folk who clean out the rivers and lakes of every fish they get their hands on, no matter the size . They are a plague
@Michael o Dwyer: It’s more likely that it’s just a narrower river that doesnt contain pike. Of which there are many around the country
Pharmaceutical waste !
@sakk sa: irish water chemical leak at the water plant, either chlorine or fluoride
Hopefully the carcasses can be salvaged for food or even pet animal feed.
have your say