asked the Minister for Finance if he will state the net gain in income made by (a) Supreme Court judges and (b) High Court judges following the recent budgetary concessions to surtax payers.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Judges' Income: Surtax Concessions.
9.
The number of persons comprised in each of the categories (a) and (b) of the Deputy's question is so small that to supply the information asked for would not accord with the principles of observing secrecy in relation to the taxation affairs of taxpayers. For that reason, I regret that I cannot give the information requested by the Deputy.
Might I ask the Taoiseach would it not be possible to have such information made available to a Select Committee of this House?
It could not be made available to anybody.
Is it not a fact that certain improvements took place in the status of the particular people referred to because of the budgetary concessions, and those improvements should have a bearing on the question of increasing their salaries by 10 per cent., as the Government propose, at the present time? In view of the fact that that would amount to two increases, in a very short space of time, would the Taoiseach not consider it desirable that the full facts and figures be made available to a select Committee of the House so that there could be a non-party discussion on what figure should be arrived at as a suitable increase?
The private tax affairs of taxpayers cannot be made available to anybody.
Is it not a fact that the Minister for justice, in making his case for the present rise, used this fact, or a comparable fact, to point out that these people would not get the total increase proposed because of income-tax deductions? In view of that argument, which the Minister has already used, is it not but fair that we should be given the other side of the picture—the concessions made to these people as a result of the recent Budget?
The Minister for Justice dealt with a hypothetical case.
I am not dealing with a hypothetical case.
The Minister for Justice was dealing with a hypothetical case.
The Minister for Justice was dealing with the facts before the House, that it was proposed to increase these people's salaries, and his case was that the salaries would not be increased by the total amount proposed, but would be decreased by the amount of taxation payable. In the light of that, I think the Taoiseach should allow us to bring before the public the other side of the picture of the concessions that are following as a result of the recent Budget.