Noonan: I will reduce income tax when I can

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he would reduce income tax at the earliest opportunity, in what appeared to be the first Fine Gael promise of the next general election campaign.

In an interview with RTÉ’s Prime Time last night, the minister said that income taxes “can’t take any more”, adding: “If I had the wherewithal, I would be reducing income taxes.”

He said the reason the property tax was being imposed was to avoid tax on work: “Since we came in, in either budget, we didn’t increase any of the personal taxes and we won’t. I want to keep from increasing income taxes and when I get any opportunity, I’ll reduce them, especially for those middle income groups.”