Up to €3 billion a year in higher taxes on the wealthy and on business should be introduced to fund social welfare increases, a universal basic income and other measures to combat poverty and inequality, Social Justice Ireland has said in its annual Guide to a Fairer Society. In a detailed, 300-page manifesto, which the group updates and publishes every year, Social Justice Ireland says Ireland’s current economic model is “no longer fit for purpose”. “Social Justice Ireland has developed such a model. “Social Justice Ireland believes that Ireland should aim to collect an additional €2.5 billion-€3 billion per annum in taxation,” the report says. Revenue from the new taxes would enable the Government to fund “a five-year plan for eradicating poverty in Ireland”, the group says.

Source: The Irish Times February 04, 2019 00:00 UTC