Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Those on low incomes pay least and those on the minimum wage pay nothing at all. That is not to say that we will not have to raise taxes. The Government has already indicated several times that we need to broaden the tax base and that increased taxation will have to form part of our return to fiscal stability. Equally we have said and many commentators agree that now is not the time to increase taxes further. We will await the advice of the Commission on Taxation which has been examining our tax system for more than a year. Its report, which is due in early autumn, will inform our decisions for next year's budget.

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