Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I will put this in perspective. Over the last decade, as the Deputies have admitted, there has been a huge improvement in reducing the tax burden on people with these incomes. Members have spoken about this levy applying to people on low incomes, but I am making the point, which is a fair political point, that the Opposition Members when they were in Government regarded 26%, which was then the standard rate, as appropriate for people on these incomes in the past.

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