Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

Considering that it is not delivering on the spending side, it must continue to seek more contributions, particularly through VAT and stealth taxes, from the ordinary family which is struggling financially. These taxes are not based on equity contributions but simply on the fact that they are easy to collect. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform does not even see these taxes on his radar. It is quite extraordinary that he said that much of the increased tax take results from taxes from foreign companies and that they do not count. Since when did the Progressive Democrats form the view that companies that come here to operate and pay taxes do not count?

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