Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has hinted at another cut of the USC in the next Budget, but has ruled out abolishing the charge altogether, because it would be ‘too hard’ to find alternative sources of revenue.
According to the minister, the new cut will mean that an additional 90,000 people will be taken out of the USC net.
During then Fine Gael conference in Mayo today, the minister said: “Our focus has been on low-paid people and middle-income people and we’ll continue to do that.
“We’ll mirror that in the next Budget, and if we’re fortunate enough to be re-elected, we’re committed to following the same type of tax reform in 2017.
“And then we’ll see for subsequent years what way we should adjust it.”
The USC was introduced as a ‘temporary’ measure by the late Brian Lenihan in 2010.