Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 6, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following subsection:

"(3) No deduction shall be made under this section in respect of a person whose remuneration is below €18,000 per year.".

This amendment will provide an exemption for those earning less than €18,000, the figure the Minister used in the other levy he introduced this year. On Committee Stage of the Finance Bill, he decided the levy, which was originally set at a flat rate, with everyone paying, should have an exemption up to a threshold of €18,304. The tenor of the discussion suggests the Minister's more enlightened view when we discussed this at that time does not apply now, but I would like to hear his response.

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