Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

In reference to the Minister's speech, particularly where he dealt with the principles of taxation, he said the imposition of taxes must be fair and equitable and that a higher rate must apply to those on higher incomes. That sounds familiar in that it reads exactly like my old leaving certificate economics Folens textbook and whoever wrote that probably did the leaving certificate around the same time as myself. However, I always understood from my leaving certificate economics that taxation should be progressive, not regressive. In this instance, the 1% levy is regressive. Those on the margins and people who predominantly probably voted for Fianna Fáil are being punished for their loyalty. They are the people who did not benefit extensively during the boom years. Instead, they went out every day to do as they always did and now they are being punished. It is the wrong strategy and a regressive measure. When one takes account of the increases in VAT and other increases in the cost of living, it will have a negative impact on their real income. The real incomes of those in the low income bracket will be severely affected and for that reason we oppose this measure.

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