Government TD dismisses tax-on-wealth proposal

A tax on wealth would hinder Ireland's economic recovery by driving money out of the country, according to Fine Gael TD Pascal Donohue.

His comments come as Sinn Féin prepares to deliver its pre-Budget submission today.

The party is in favour of introducing a 1% levy on net assets, including savings, that are in excess of €1m.

Deputy Donohue believes such a move would be counter-productive, however.

"Putting forward an idea of a wealth tax is a recipe for encouraging people to take the money out of Irish banks," he said.

"We need people to be putting money into our banks, so that money can be lent out to Irish people and lent out to Irish businesses.

"An increased tax on Irish deposits is only going to encourage people to take the money out of our banking system."