Loopholes leave millionaires with zero tax bill

ELEVEN people who earned over €1 million in 2001 paid no taxes, the Department of Finance (DOF) admitted yesterday.

In an embarrassing blow to the Government’s tax policies, the department was forced to admit that a total of 242 high earners had a zero tax rate on their incomes in 2001.

This group, with incomes over €100,000, took advantage of generous Government tax breaks for pensions investment and property schemes, which reduced their tax liabilities to zero.