When one tax loophole closes, another opens

HOW many times are we to go through the charade whereby a Fianna Fáil minister of finance declares he is going to close the loopholes that allow very rich people to pay very little tax.

I seem to remember Bertie Ahern doing it in his time. Even Charlie McCreevy made a big show of closing some loophole now and then.

Now we, the little people who pay PAYE, are again expected to be grateful to Brian Cowen for closing down some (but not all) loopholes.

As always, there are pressing reasons why some loopholes must be left open. Like St Augustine, these finance ministers aspire to complete virtue, but always not just yet.

When Cowen boasts of closing some, but not all, loopholes, is it not like a jailer boasting that he has closed most of the prison gates?

Just as the prisoners don’t care which gate they use to reach freedom, the great and the good don’t really care which loophole they use to reduce their liabilities, so long as there are always a few still available to them.

Tim O’Halloran

Ferndale Road

Dublin 11