Noonan: Tax cuts will have to be paid for somewhere
The Minister for Finance has warned that any tax breaks in the next Budget will have to be paid for elsewhere in the system.
Michael Noonan said any cuts to income tax or the Universal Social Charge will have to be made up by increasing taxes or cutting spending elsewhere.
He said the State's finances are not yet strong enough to support giving money back without taking it from somewhere else.
"If we have any tax relief it'll have to be paid for elsewhere in the system," he said, "but there's nothing unusual about that."
"When I reduced the VAT from 13.5% to 9% [for the hospitality sector], it had to be paid for as well, and when I brought in the tax relief for home extensions last year ... that had to be paid for."
However, there is still the expectation that the Budget will not be as tough as the €2bn euro of austerity measures originally planned.
