Report to back new tax on super-rich

THE Commission on Taxation is expected to recommend a crackdown on super-rich tax exiles when its report is published today.

Property and carbon taxes and the introduction of water charges are also understood to be recommended in the report.

The commission was established in February 2008 to review the “structure, efficiency and appropriateness” of the taxation system.

Its report, which runs to over 600 pages, will be published on the commission’s website, www.taxcommission.ie, from 11am.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has already discussed the contents with the Cabinet and will have to decide in the coming weeks which recommendations to implement and which to ignore.

He has already confirmed that the Government is committed to the introduction of a carbon tax in the December Budget but said other taxes, such as a property levy, might have to wait.

It is thought there is nervousness within Fianna Fáil about the potential public backlash to a property tax, in particular, given the many homeowners in negative equity who are furious with the Government’s handling of the economy.

“The Government has made it clear it is committed to a carbon tax in this budget. That’s a big operation in itself,” Mr Lenihan said in a recent interview.

“In relation to taxation generally, I’ve expressed the view many times now that the burden of taxation is high enough on the citizens and the taxpayers, and that we have to solve our economic problems and our financial problems as a State through further expenditure reductions or cuts.”

For this reason it is a separate report by the group known as An Bord Snip which may prove more influential on the budget.

Properly known as the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes, An Bord Snip identified a total of €5.3 billion in proposed spending cuts in its report, which was published in July.

Mr Lenihan will not implement all of An Bord Snip’s recommendations, as he is seeking up to €3bn of spending cuts in the budget rather than €5.3bn.

But he faces fierce opposition to those proposals he does push through, with numerous TDs and lobby groups in recent weeks condemning various cutbacks proposed in the An Bord Snip report.

Meanwhile, private coach operators have come out against the proposed carbon tax, labelling it “crazy”.

Gerry Mullins, chief executive of the Coach Tourism & Transport Council, said: “A carbon tax will be a tax on public transport.

“Private coach and bus operators will have no option but to pass along the additional costs to their passengers".