ICTU urges 48% tax rate for wealthy to stave off further cuts

The Government should introduce a 48% tax rate for high earners in the budget and squeeze further taxes out of profitable businesses, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said.

In its pre-budget submission yesterday, ICTU said the Government should focus more on raising taxes than cutting expenditure.

The Government is working off an approximate 2:1 ratio of spending cuts to tax hikes, believing the latter are too much of a drag on the economy. And the Coalition has ruled out increasing income tax, saying to do so would impact on jobs.