Slump culprits should be made pay ‘treason tax’

OVER the past few weeks and continuing until budget day, various taxes and cuts will be suggested to address the deficit.

All this is doing is scaring people out of their wits, causing them to stop spending as they have no idea what pain they will have to face.

Simultaneously, people are livid that while no one has been punished for causing our economic crises, the little people will be made pay for it through higher taxes and lower benefits.

In the past the budget was used to reward chums of ‘Fianna Fáilure’ with generous tax breaks to fund their insatiable greed.

So why can’t the budget be used in reverse to punish those who have contributed the most to our economic nightmare by making them contribute most to our recovery? If we pay sin taxes and eco-taxes as punishment for drinking, smoking and polluting, surely those who commit economic treason against our nation should be punished with treason taxes.

What about a 10% levy on income in excess of €80,000, 1% on net wealth of more than €250,000 and 20% on capital acquisitions and gains? And why not levy these treason taxes on every member of Fianna Fáil and all their wealthy cronies who benefited so handsomely from tax breaks during the boom?

These treason taxes would make those who have benefited the most contribute the most, while simultaneously allowing them to prove their patriotism to the state and their remorse to the Irish people by paying back their ill-gotten wealth as reparations to help address our deficit.

Surely this would be, as Brian Lenihan once said, “no less than a call to patriotic action”.

Jason FitzHarris

Rivervalley

Swords

Co Dublin