The Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has claimed if Fine Gael are to be re-elected back into power they will abolish the Universal Social Charge (USC).
Mr Noonan’s announcement is likely to come as a blow to Fine Gael’s current collation partners the Labour party because they plan to retain the emergency tax measure, as they believe the country’s high earners should contribute more to public spending.
Although, Minister Noonan has insisted that he and Fine Gael plan to phase out the measure as quickly as possible. Speaking in Brussels this afternoon Mr Noonan said: “Today is the fifth anniversary of Fianna Fáil introducing the USC, the most unpopular tax that was ever visited on the Irish people. “Twice already, we have softened the blow of USC (in Budgets). If resources are available, we will abolish this unpopular tax completely during our next period in government.”