Taxation: Income and corporation taxes would not be raised by the Greens in government, although other taxes would have to rise to pay for public services, the party agreed.
During a lengthy debate, delegates accepted a policy document, Taxing Smarter, drafted by the party's finance spokesman, Cork South-Central TD Dan Boyle. Promising "fair and proportionate" taxes, Mr Boyle said the Greens would demand that those presently avoiding taxes must be obliged to pay their share.
All income and profits earned in the State should be taxed here, said Mr Boyle, who promised to abolish the existing residency rules which allow those who stay abroad for half the year to escape taxes.
Tax reliefs would be limited and property reliefs would be abolished, while capital gains taxes should rise by 5 per cent to 25 per cent, he told the Kilkenny national conference.
The Greens, he said, did not oppose the concept of tax reliefs, although they should be the "right ones" and should be regularly monitored to ensure that they were achieving their stated aims. "None of these safeguards exist at the moment. At present, reliefs are mainly property-based, despite the fact that we are living in the middle of the greatest property boom that this State has ever experienced," he said.
Although acknowledging that corporation taxes should not rise, he said other reliefs had allowed businesses to lower their tax payments below those made in income tax and VAT.
"There is a need to examine what taxes are being collected through the corporate sector and how these can be made proportionate," he said, adding that income tax bands and credits should be index-linked to bring "an end to taxation by stealth".
Rejecting a bid by Galway West Greens to remove the promise not to raise income and corporation taxes, Mr Boyle said such a move "would leave them open in the minds of voters".
Disagreeing, Cllr Niall Ó Brolcháin, the party's Galway West candidate, said that the Greens could be penalised if they found they had to raise taxation when in power.
"I don't want to go down the road of George Bush snr, who told voters during his election campaign 'Read my lips. No new taxes'," said the councillor.
Dublin West candidate Roderic O'Gorman said that the current tax rules favoured multi-nationals. He favoured these paying more, which should then be invested in Irish firms. However, he acknowledged that multi-nationals could quit the State, leaving behind thousands of Irish jobs. "Many live in my constituency. We cannot risk those jobs," he added.
Cllr Tony McDermott, who is to contest Dublin South-Central, was sharply critical of stamp duty, which he said hit people when they were "at their most vulnerable".
Cllr Brian Meaney, a member of Clare County Council, said that the party should not tax second homes because "you can't frighten the voters", while the removal of property tax reliefs could spark a housing price collapse.