Madam, – No doubt Vincent Browne was enjoying himself while musing on the benefits of a 10 per cent wealth tax on Ireland’s 50 wealthiest individuals (Opinion, April 29th), saying we could probably “nail” most of them and get “around €3 billion a year from them”. The problem, of course, is that this revenue could only be raised in a single year before disappearing: as these supremely mobile people will definitely not be hanging around to be “nailed” on a regular basis.
The first thing we are going to need when this recession has run its course is people with the incentive and capacity to invest in Ireland, creating jobs and sustainable businesses.
That means people such as Dermot Desmond, who has already shown his willingness in this regard with the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin. Penalising such people and driving them into permanent exile is probably the worst thing we could be doing right now, no matter how satisfying it may be to the class warriors among us. – Yours, etc,
HUGH TREACY,
Creagh,
Gorey,
Co Wexford.
Madam, – Whatever people’s views on the causes and consequences of our current plight, it is almost universally acknowledged that far-reaching reform of government and regulation is part of the solution, or at least a necessary precursor to a solution.
Our Government has all but no support or confidence from the Irish people, it has so little political capital that it is barely able to effect a change as trivial as the demotion of a number of its junior ministers.
Such a Government could not possibly survive the backlash that the very necessary reformation of our public, banking, legal and regulatory sectors would occasion.I suspect the Government is well aware of this.
If the Government were genuinely patriotic it would call a general election so as that a government with a strong mandate for the kind of change that we need could be voted into power, – Yours etc,
JIM McGOWAN,
Arnott Street,
Off South Circular Road,
Dublin 8.