Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Several views on the USC have been expressed. It is quite wrong to bundle together people’s views on its abolition versus its reduction or phasing out. The total overall tax rate on employment in this country and the level at which it kicks in are very high. Something has to be done about that. Will the Minister comment on the benefits of a reduction in USC and the principle of putting money back into people’s pockets? The USC was a temporary draconian tax introduced to dig us out of a particular financial situation. It is regrettable, but this country has a tendency, whether by way of a tax break or a tax increase, to transpose very quickly a temporary provision to a permanent feature of our tax system. We should avoid doing that.

I am also interested in inheritance tax, particularly in respect of parents and children in Dublin and the constituency I represent, and the recent reduction. How will inheritance tax be treated in future versus changes in capital gains tax?

I would be opposed to any indexation of tax bands as a general principle. It is wrong, it takes away the ability to target and is a regressive way to do things rather than having flexibility. Does the Minister have any other thoughts on the indexation of tax bands?

Is there any thinking on the local property tax in respect of the budget?