Vol. 557 No. 1
125 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Finance his plans to make taxation less of a burden on the PAYE sector by ensuring land rent tax, a tax on currency transactions and energy taxation are introduced in order that income tax can be reduced. [21303/02]
I set out in my last budget speech what the Government has done to lessen the burden on the PAYE sector. I said that as a result of my five budgets, over 380,000 taxpayers have been taken out of the income tax net. I also said that of €4.8 billion income tax reductions in these five budgets, 43% has gone on increasing the basic tax allowances, or credits as they are now, including the PAYE allowance; a further 22% went in taking over 370,000 taxpayers off the top rate of tax; over 16% went to reduce the standard rate of tax paid by all taxpayers, and just 11% went to cut the top rate of income tax.
As regards the specific proposals suggested by the Deputy, I do not wish to comment on this given the fact that the budget is only three weeks away except to say that I have pointed out in the Dáil on a number of occasions in reply to other parliamentary questions that I regard the so-called Tobin tax on currency transactions as not workable in practice because of the difficulties involved.
