Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 199: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 71 of 26 February 2008, the number of taxpayers and the proportion of taxpayers for the years 2007 and 2008 paying tax at the standard rate who are nominally liable to pay tax at the higher rate before such credits are taken into account. [9008/08]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As the Deputy is aware, the data relating to the numbers paying tax at the higher rate, the standard rate and exempt were set out in my reply to her question on 26 February 2008. An explanation as to why the data are presented in this way is contained in the 2007 Budget booklet, pages C.23 to C.28.

As I indicate in my previous reply on 26 February 2008, what matters to earners is the amount of their earnings that they keep in their pockets. For all income earners, whether single or married, the position is that their take home pay has increased very significantly in real terms over the last ten years.

As indicated in An Agreed Programme for Government, the aim over the term of Office of this Government is to keep the overall tax burden low and implement further changes to enhance the reward for work while increasing the fairness of the tax system.