Irish Budget To Fall Back On Sin Taxes

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

20 November 2001

The Irish media has reported that Charlie McCreevy's advisers are urging the finance minister to raise taxes on petrol, alcohol and cigarettes in the next budget. It is understood that a meeting on the budget will take place tomorrow (Wednesday) when Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Mr McCreevy will discuss with Fianna Fail backbenchers what they can expect.

According to the Irish Independent, in addition to the tax hike on petrol, alcohol and tobacco, there will be no reduction in the 20 per cent tax or the 42 per cent tax rates, nor is there enough money to remove all workers on £10,000 a year or less from the tax net.

Last week Fine Gael's spokesman on social and community issues, Brian Hayes, condemned Ireland's last four budgets as 'shameful', and accused the government of increasing the gap between the country's rich and poor. 'Ireland is a wealthy country with one of the worst records on poverty in the European Union,' he argued. 'Despite the astonishing economic success of recent years, this Government has succeeded in widening the gap between Ireland's rich and poor.'

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