Labour pledges cut in standard rate tax
The Labour Party will cut the standard tax rate from 20% to 18% if it gets into government, it was claimed tonight.
Delivering the keynote address at his national conference, leader Pat Rabbitte said the Government’s reduction of the top rate had only lined the pockets of the well-off.
“If you cut the lower or standard rate, all taxpayers benefit but those on middle and low incomes gain most,” he said.
“Therefore, given the resources available, within two years of being returned to government, Labour will cut the standard rate from 20% to 18%.”
Mr Rabbitte accused the Government of charging and wasting more taxes than any administration since the foundation of the state.
He also reiterated his party’s Five Commitments For Change: more beds in clean hospitals, pre-school education for all children, more gardai on the beat in neighbourhoods, abolition of the means test for carers, and enabling more young people to begin to buy a home.
In a wide-ranging attack on the Government, he said voters were caught on a never-ending treadmill of work, traffic and responsibility but had little time for their families.
“Are you happy to live in a society that regards as inevitable dirty hospitals, endless traffic jams, wanton violence and run-down schools?” he asked.
He claimed that Fianna Fail was putting the interests of big builders, developers and landowners before the housing needs of ordinary workers.
Labour will also promote a fairer society built on prosperity, environmental sustainability and on social solidarity, he suggested.
“Working together, we can build a community where every individual can achieve their full human potential,” he said.
Recalling that former leader Ruairi Quinn established the Criminal Assets Bureau, Mr Rabbitte said Labour would introduce new anti-gangland laws so that a criminal’s unexplained wealth can be admitted as evidence in a prosecution.
He said Irish society had lost in the past two decades the values which took a century or more in other European countries.
“We are a more open and liberal society now, but we cannot drift towards becoming a society devoid of community and public values.”
On the immigration issue, the Dublin TD noted that the right balance had to be struck between diversity and integration.
He remarked that climate change was the issue which would mobilise the next generation of socialists around the world.
Mr Rabbitte defended his new Begin To Buy scheme and added: “We will legislate to protect the consumer rights of home buyers, to regulate management companies and estate agents, and to control management charges. We will end homelessness and reform the planning system to better serve communities and neighbourhoods.”
The party leader said Health Minister Mary Harney’s plan to build “super private” clinics would drive up insurance bills, damage public hospitals and worsen the two-tier healthcare system.
