Richard Boyd Barrett: Tax Billionaires to Tackle Inequality
Richard Boyd Barrett addresses the Dáil on rising wealth inequality and calls for a wealth tax on the super-rich to fund cost-of-living relief. He cites a Davos open letter and warns that Ireland's 11 billionaires hold as much wealth as two thirds of the population.
Blunt critique of wealth inequality
Richard Boyd Barrett condemns the concentration of wealth as "absolutely disgusting," arguing that the growing number of billionaires corrodes democracy and fuels global conflict. He says a modest tax on the top 1% could raise billions to relieve ordinary households.
Davos and the billionaires' admission
Boyd Barrett references an open letter from multi-millionaires and billionaires at Davos calling for wealth taxes, using it to underscore his point that even the very wealthy acknowledge the scale of inequality. He proposes targeting those with more than 4.5 million to fund relief measures.
Government response and debate
In reply, the Taoiseach defends the role of multinational companies and corporate tax revenue, stressing jobs and long-term investment from sectors such as pharmaceuticals and tech. The exchange highlights a wider debate between taxing wealth and preserving foreign investment.
Implications for policy and society
Boyd Barrett frames a wealth tax as an immediate fiscal tool to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and restore fairness, while opponents warn of potential impacts on investment and employment. The debate raises questions about taxation, public services, and who should carry the burden in tough economic times.
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Taoiseach, even the multi-millionaires are now saying that the inequality in wealth is obscene and that the rich need to be taxed. At the time of Davos, hundreds of multi-millionaires and even one or two billionaires released an open letter to the Davos delegates saying that there should be wealth taxes imposed on them. The inequality in wealth is staggering. The 11 billionaires we have in this country, a number that is growing each year, have the same amount of wealth as two thirds of the population. It's absolutely disgusting. It's corrosive of democracy. It's fuelling conflict all over the world. And a small tax on these people could generate billions. Billions that could give working people relief from the cost of living crisis as we have long, long argued. Don't you agree that even the billionaires and the millionaires are saying what we've been saying for many years, that we should have a tax on the super-rich, not on ordinary workers, but on the top 1% who have more in this country than €4.5 million, a small tax, to fuel a little bit of relief. Deputy Paul Murphy. Deputy Boyd Barrett. Could I just say overall, it's interesting, Deputy Boyd Barrett, Deputy Murphy, sort of have a look at Davos through a certain prism. I mean, the reality is, in terms of taxing the wealthy, I mean, a third now of tax revenue is corporate tax. So a lot of the companies I met in Davos pay huge amounts in corporate tax to the Irish Exchequer. Those are realities. As corporate tax. As corporate tax. A third. And it underpins a lot of spending on public services. Now, your view is attack, attack, attack them. That is your view. You don't really think they have value in the Irish economy, even though some of them have been here 50 years in terms of pharmaceuticals, in terms of life sciences. Many of them have been here in terms of Microsoft came in in 1985. So I go to Davos, and the Irish government goes to Davos, and the IDA goes to Davos, to keep identifying and profiling Ireland's proposition, Ireland's position, and also to advocate for Ireland, to make sure there's further investments coming to Ireland, to maintain the contacts. Because a lot of workers in our economy are working in those companies that you would like to tax out of the country. That's the reality, and that's what you're proposing. Deep down, you don't really worry too much about the workers in those companies. I've never heard anything from both of you, in any shape or sense or form, that would underpin those workers in those companies. I've never seen it. It's a very anti-worker perspective in terms of your attitude to the companies I'm talking about, more generally, and the industry in this sector. And if I could, through the chair, say that Ireland, you raised the issue about equality. Ireland is more equal than most, actually, because of our progressive taxation system. In fact, there's a lot of people railing against that now in various platforms and media, saying that we're overtaxing. But actually, Ireland is a much more equal society than most, because of a progressive income tax system.
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