Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 234: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will respond to the concerns of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12. [3284/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The income levy is payable on gross income from all sources before any tax reliefs, capital allowances, losses or pension contributions. However, there are a number of exemptions from the income levy.

The exemptions from the income levy include:

- all social welfare payments;

- individuals who hold full medical cards;

- individuals whose annual income does not exceed €15,028 per annum;

- individuals aged 65 or over whose annual income does not exceed €20,000 per annum or €769 per fortnight; or

- married couples, one or both of whom are aged 65 or over, whose combined income for the year does not exceed €40,000 per annum.

The reason these arrangements have been applied is to make the income levy as fair as possible by providing exemptions for those on very low incomes or with an entitlement to a medical card and by providing increased exemption thresholds for those age 65 and over. The income levy is highly progressive and has been designed to ensure that those who can afford to pay, pay the most.