Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue has urged Minister for Finance Brian Cowen not to abolish or dilute the scheme that exempts artists and writers from income tax.
A letter from Mr O'Donoghue last April was the only submission from a Cabinet member to Mr Cowen's review of tax incentives and exemptions.
"Most of those benefiting from the scheme are on very modest incomes," said Mr O'Donoghue in support of an Arts Council paper that called for the entire scheme to be retained.
"We have good reason to believe that terminating or even capping the scheme is more likely to result in high earners legally leaving the jurisdiction, or structuring their earnings in a way that avoids or greatly reduces any tax liability, than in any revenue windfall for the Exchequer."
Mr O'Donoghue's letter was among 86 published last evening on the website of the Department of Finance. The outcome of the review process will be reflected in Budget 2006 in December.
Contrasting views emerged in submissions on tax exemptions from bodies and groups such as the Irish Taxation Institute and the accounting bodies, the Labour Party, the Ictu, the Construction Industry Federation, the Irish Farmers' Association, the Conference of Religious in Ireland, the horse racing industry and the Society of St Vincent de Paul.
The Irish Taxation Institute said it would be unwise to overhaul the exemptions system if the review found that the incentives scheme had been an economic success. This would "damage the investment environment" fostered by the incentives, it said.
The Consultative Committee of the Accountancy Bodies in Ireland said it believed that no further restrictions on the exemptions should be introduced "because of the continuing roll-out of the restrictions and particularly in the light of the fact that so many of the property-based tax reliefs are due to terminate over the next 18 months".
The Labour Party said the avoidance of tax by high earners was an issue of concern on grounds of efficiency and equity. "The review should have regard to the extensive evidence pertaining to the low effective rates of tax being availed of by some high-net-worth taxpayers."
The Ictu paper said that tax breaks were "tax expenditures" and were, in effect, subsidies from the public purse. It said most of the property incentive schemes should be immediately abolished as should the bloodstock exemption. It added that the exemption should be capped.
The Construction Industry Federation called for the continuation of property incentives and said future exemptions should be guided by the need to encourage investment in emerging sectoral "pressure points" in areas such as private healthcare, and recreation, leisure, cultural and art facilities.
The Irish Farmers' Association pointed out that income from woodlands came a long time after an initial investment and said this was the reason for its exemption.
The Conference of Religious in Ireland, representing Catholic bodies, said an index-linked limit of €250,000 on the value of tax reliefs would be "more than generous".
Horse Racing Ireland called for the retention of the tax exemptions in the bloodstock industry.
In addition, the Society of St Vincent de Paul called for a minimum income tax rate on high-earners and said property-based schemes should be "bullet proofed" more thoroughly.
