Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 July 2014
217. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Finance the information sources his Department has utilised in any study prepared to assess the utility and implications of adopting a wealth tax; if he will share the findings of this research; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29844/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo estimate the potential revenue from such a tax one would need to identify the wealth held by individuals, which is not possible from the data available at present. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that they currently have no statistical basis for compiling estimates in relation to a potential wealth tax. Although an individual's assets and liabilities are declared in a number of specific circumstances for example, after a death or the value of property owned this information is not a complete measure of financial assets in the State or recorded in a manner that would allow analysis of the implications of an overarching wealth based tax.
I am advised that the Central Statistics Office (CSO) institutional sector accounts do not give an indication of the number of households or persons classified by the categories of wealth they hold. These statistics are based on aggregate information collected from financial institutions and do not contain the demographic details which would enable such a breakdown of the statistics.
However, I understand that, following discussions between the Department of Public Enterprise and Reform, the CSO and the Central Bank, the CSO has commenced a "Household Finance and Consumption Survey", which will collect information on household wealth. The results of this survey are not yet available.
The data to be collected by the CSO as part of its Household Finance and Consumption Survey is not being collected for the purposes of calculating the potential yield from a wealth tax but to collect general information on the financial situation and behaviour of households.
