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Universal Social Charge will increase numbers of working poor printable version

27 Jan 2011: posted by the editor - Ireland

People Before Profit/United Left Alliance candidate for Dublin South Central, Joan Collins commented: "This Finance Bill will have a devastating effect on working people in this country. The introduction of the Universal Social Charge will increase the numbers of working poor. The charge is paid by anyone earning more than €4,004 per year or, in other words, by a person earning less than €80 a week. The top rate of 7 per cent, will apply regardless of whether you earn, for example, €20,000 or €200,000.

"The behaviour of Fine Gael and the Labour Party in 'facilitating' this Finance Bill is cynical, hypocritical and entirely self-serving. They have gone out of their way to ensure the bill is passed yet have refused to take any responsibility for it."

People Before Profit/United Left Alliance candidate for Dun Laoghaire, Richard Boyd Barrett commented: "For hundreds of thousands of people the reality of this Finance Bill is already beginning to bite with the introduction this month of the Universal Social Charge. Once again it is clear that this government's operating principle, at all times, is to make ordinary working people pay for this crisis. It is too complicated to tax the obscene bonuses of the bankers who created this crisis but it's a national priority to attack wages, social welfare and the minimum wage.

"We also need to be absolutely clear about this, Fine Gael and Labour have colluded with this government by allowing the Finance bill to be passed. You cannot oppose the bill out of one side of your month and facilitate its passing out of the other."

Cllr Clare Daly, Socialist Party and United Left Alliance candidate for Dublin North added: "Regardless of the passing of the Finance Bill by the Dáil there must be a massive campaign to reverse the disastrous policies it enshrines throughout the General Election campaign and afterwards. Assuming this Bill is made law this weekend Fine Gael and the Labour Party needn't think they can easily implement it on the basis that it is a done deal because it was voted through by a discredited government."

Tags: Universal social charge

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