Banking Levy Expiration Needs To Be Addressed
Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has called on the government to address the expiration of the Banking Levy this year, and to prepare legislation for the imposition of a replacement levy before the existing levy expires.
An Teachta Tóibín:
“The cost of bailing out Irish banks following the financial crisis stands at almost €64 billion. Their greed, their corruption and their illegal actions were bailed out with the hard-earned money of the Irish people. The Banking Levy was introduced to ensure banks and financial institutions could repay at least some of what was paid out to them. This levy generates a meagre €150 million per year, from a sector that has been making billion in profits. To repay the debt at this rate, it would take over 400 years of the Banking Levy. The existing levy is the bare minimum the banking sector could be doing to repair the damage they wrought. This is a sector that has avoided up to €12 billion in taxes on profits due to existing legislation and regulation. Particularly, given the withdrawal of Ulster Bank from the Irish market and the consolidation of a duopoly in the Irish banking sector, it is imperative we do not relieve the sector of its obligations to the Irish people.”
“The charge was initially introduced to last from 2014 to 2016. It was then extended to 2021, albeit Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil voted against increasing the Levy in 2019. It is completely within the power of this government to extend the levy. That is why I am calling on the government on the government to extend the levy significantly till such a time as the debts are majoritively repaid at least. Furthermore, I am calling on the government to review the existing rate of the levy particularly in light of increased profits in the sector, the recovery of the banking sector, and the ongoing economic crisis the country is in. We, the Irish people, bailed the banks out in 2010 – the government should be ensuring that amidst a global pandemic and economic crisis, banks earning billions are pulling even a fraction of their weight.”
