Axing USC - Rash pledge was a blatant political ploy

AS the old saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. That truism certainly applies to Fine Gael’s much-vaunted plan to abolish the iniquitous universal social charge (USC) by 2020. 

A swingeing tax that hurt everyone, it was introduced in 2011 as a means of raising badly needed revenue. USC literally does what it says on the tin by taxing the gross income of anyone earning more than €13,000 a year.

When first introduced, the income ceiling was pegged as low as €4,000 a year which meant the poor were hardest hit.