Cyprus is the prototype for a wealth tax here

Regarding the Cyprus levy proposals, I believe the Irish Government welcomed the proposed deal with the Troika until the Cypriots took to the streets.

The reaction in the Dáil was informative. I believed Sinn Féin and some independents — Boyd-Barrett, Claire Daly, etc — were in favour of a wealth tax. I said to myself ‘the Cypriots have laid out the prototype for them’.

It is the ideal taxation system and ticks all the boxes: It is simple to understand, it is easy to collect, it is progressive.

Forget about fairness. Have the pro-wealth-tax people in the Dáil lost their bottle? Surely the response should be — ‘bring it on’ Instead, they launched into a massive attack on the Irish government because of the proposals made by the Cypriot government.

Was it because the Cypriots have stolen their clothes? If we adopted this model of a wealth tax, all our problems would be over. Bring on undergrounds and the bypasses and look again at the Bertie Bowl.

We could have it all, couldn’t we?

William O’Regan

Ardagh

Co Limerick