A range of property tax schemes, extended to 2006, in this year's Budget, were the key vehicles behind the low tax payments for many higher earners revealed yesterday.
The figures showed 41 people earning over €500,000 and 11 earning over €1 million paid no income tax in the 2001 tax year.
Labour has called for a minimum income tax rate and an end to various loopholes after its inquiries revealed the latest data. Nine of these 41 were PAYE workers and 32 self-employed, according to data given by the Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, to Labour's finance spokeswoman, Ms Joan Burton, in reply to a Dáil question.
A previous Revenue Commissioners study for 1999-2000 showed investment schemes in hotels, car parks and other property schemes were the main vehicles used by the wealthy to reduce their tax bills and this remains the case.
In the 2003 Budget, former Minister for Finance Mr Charlie McCreevy said a range of these schemes would end this year. But following intensive lobbying he said in this year's Budget that this finishing date would be extended to July 2006.
But the Department of Finance, said that since 1998 measures had been introduced to close such loopholes and to reduce their effectiveness as tax shelters.
While Labour, the Green Party and Sinn Féin expressed outrage at the figures, the Department said they showed that out of 10,828 PAYE taxpayers on €100,000 or more, 10,741 were liable for tax at the 42 per cent tax rate, 40 at the 20 per cent tax rate while just 47 had a nil net income tax liability.
The figures also showed that out of 9,240 self-employed people earning over €100,000, 8,936 were liable for tax at the 42 per cent rate, 109 at the standard rate and 195 had no net tax liability. The Department said many loopholes had been closed in Budgets and Finance Acts since 1998.
Mr Cowen said the non-payment of tax by high-earning individuals arose because "the gross income is reduced by various relevant deductions and allowances such as capital allowances, losses, allowable expenses and retirement annuities. In some cases, these will reduce the taxable income to nil."
Ms Burton denounced the unequal treatment of taxpayers arising from the tax loopholes available to the wealthy and questioned the fact that only 20,000 people declared incomes exceeding €100,000.
