Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We capped the gain at €70,000 so there is no additional gain beyond that. Often in debates, somebody on €150,000 or €200,000 gets quoted, not the person on €70,000. The Deputy can see from the distributional table the maximum gain is just under €900.

As to who gains the most, I would look at the percentage change in somebody’s income. The maximum percentage change, at just over 2%, kicks in for the people who benefit from the increase in the standard rate cut-off point. That is people on an annual income in the low to mid-€40,000s. They gain by over 2% in terms of net income. They gain proportionately the most. The Deputy would put it in cash terms but that ignores the highly progressive nature of our tax system where, as people earn more money, the rate and amount of tax they pay increases dramatically.