Better to preserve resources than cut taxes in Budget 2020 – Donohoe
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said it will be far better off preserving resources to deal with the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, rather than reducing taxes in Budget 2020.
Yesterday, Cabinet agreed to base Budget 2020 on the assumption that there will be a no-deal Brexit, with Mr Donohoe ruling out any reductions in personal taxation in the upcoming budget.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Donohoe said he will not make the mistake of cutting income tax rates now, only to have to increase them in the next budget.
Mr Donohoe said there will be a social welfare package in next month’s budget.
This, he said, will need to be carefully targeted and focused in order to protect the most vulnerable.
He said he is actively investigating how carbon tax can be increased and the different options in relation to it.
He added, however, no decision has been made.
Mr Donohoe said overruns last year were not acceptable and things will be done differently this year.
He also said plans are in place to address the issue of pay for Defence Forces.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin’s Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty has said with a no-deal Brexit increasingly likely, Mr Donohoe should be setting the budget “with those parameters in mind”.
Also speaking on Morning Ireland he said a rainy day fund is not enough and instead there should be a €2 billion Brexit stabilisation fund to support the sectors and regions that will be worst hit.
He said with or without a Brexit deal, a pot of money is needed to support certain sectors in Ireland once the UK leaves the EU.
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