“Obscene” increase in wealth of billionaires in Oxfam report
Limerick People Before Profit representative Cian Prendiville has called on the government to introduce a wealth tax in the wake of an Oxfam report which shows that the wealth of Irish billionaires increased by €16bn during the pandemic.
The report notes that the wealth of billionaires globally stands at 13.9% of global GDP- a figure the former councillor described as “obscene”.
The report from Oxfam also points out that in Ireland that nearly 700,000 people are experiencing deprivation - 204,710 of these are children.
The party has proposed a series of measures to tax wealth. In their most recent budget submission, People Before Profit proposed a Millionaires Tax, which would be a 2% wealth tax on the net assets of the wealthiest Top 5% of households exceeding €1 million.
Cian Prendiville said: “The figures released by Oxfam in this years ‘Profiting from Pain’ report shows a glaring and obscene picture of what wealth inequality is like globally, and in Ireland.
“In Ireland, a country described in some quarters as one of the best countries in the world to do business in, we can see the absolutely glaring disparity of wealth and inequality in this report. Irish billionaires have increased their wealth by a shocking €16bn while we can still see nearly 700,000 people are experiencing deprivation.
“There is no doubt, as shown in the report, that Ireland is a great place if you are very wealthy. But what we can see now with the cost of living crisis is that ordinary people are having to make the choice between eating and heating, whilst a small minority of people are doing extremely well.
“This points to the clear need for a wealth tax on millionaires. In our previous budget statement we called for the government to introduce a Millionaires Tax of 2% on net wealth exceeding €1 million. This measure would raise almost €5 billion and is one of a suite of socialist measures that PBP would take to reorganise society on the basis of people’s needs, instead of prioritising profits.”
