What do we know about the Financial Transaction Tax? Nothing!

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Minister Noonan stopped by the Finance Committee at the start of November to give us a briefing before the latest EcoFin meeting on November 5th and 6th.
Items up for discussion include:

  • Parent Subsidiaries Directive: a proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 2011/96/EU on the common system of taxation applicable in the case of parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States
  • Financial Transaction Tax: a proposal for a Council Directive implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of Financial Transaction Tax
  • Standard VAT returns: a proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax as regards a standard VAT return
  • & Climate finance: a preparation of the 20th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Lima from 1 to 12 December 2014

All makes sense, but when I pushed Minister Noonan on the issue of the Financial Transaction Tax things got a little odd. He acknowledged that no analysis had been done on any proposed FTT measures, but refused to instruct his department to perform such analysis on how any proposed Financial Transaction Taxes might affect Ireland.

  • Gregori Meakin

    This morning I am feeling violated by this State…
    I feel threatened over water because now there is talk about getting the money for water through the tax/welfare system; and this is supposed to be a separate company. Joan gets to give her ‘view’ on what the price should be but this was delivered on the Dail in her capacity as Tainiste. Now I find out the while I am struggling to live, Glanbia has been legally dodging tax through Luxembourg as have other Irish companies. And to top it off the letter from the ECB (printed ahead of a decision to release it) confirms that the People of Ireland were threatened with bankruptcy and told how to run its affairs by the ECB. Then Stephen points out that Noonan (who thinks this letter is only of interest to the lame-duck banking enquiry), in-spite of his assertion that Ireland was not threatened,had in fact read the letter but lied (sorry, told an ‘untruth’) about knowing about the threat when he answered a question put to him by Stephen; he admits on the radio that he did know the contents of the letter and so knew that Lenihan et al had been threatened when he answered Stephen.

    What is the point of having a democracy if it is run by untruthers and betrayers of the rights and well-being of people?