Burton calls for third tax rate ‘to ease pain’

The social protection minister has said the introduction of a third rate of income tax for low and middle earners who have “borne the brunt of the economic pain” should be part of any future discussions on the reorganisation of the tax system.

Joan Burton said that as the country moves out of the bailout crisis towards a better place where employment is recovering and the live register numbers are going down, she wants the extra funds made available to the Government used to help middle income workers caught in the “taxation trap”.

“In the Department of Social Protection we have poverty traps where you see people on rent allowances reluctant to go back to work. Equally there is a taxation trap where we have a very big jump between 20% and 41%.”