Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

However, when one considers the impact of this tax package today on different families, one simply must put it alongside the Government's introduction of a series of taxes and charges that take no account of ability to pay. From the local property tax to water charges, from increased public transport fares to the fivefold increase in prescription charges, the Government consistently has had no regard to the principle of the ability to pay. In last year's tax package, higher earners gained more than four times more than someone on modest wages. The full-year cost of the Minister's package today is approximately €550 million and because the USC is taxed on the income of an individual, the biggest winners will be two-income couples, especially high-earning two income couples.

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