On Saturday evening, following the massive protests across the country against Irish Water and the water charges, Enda Kenny tried to claim that the only alternatives to this hated and unfair tax were either increases of up to 4% in income tax, or having to boil water for decades to come.
However, the People Before Profit Alliance has already published a number of fairer and more effective measures targetted at those most able to pay, each of which would raise more revenue than the water charges are projected to raise, and none of which involve wasteful spending on the setting up of quangos or consultants' fees.
As outlined in our alternative budget entitled: Tax Justice, Fairness & Meaningful Recovery, these include:
- the establishment of a minimum effective corporate tax rate of 12.5% on Total Profits – this will raise €3.5 billion
- the establishment of a new nominal rate of 15% – this will raise €500 million
- the introduction of the Financial Transaction Tax to raise €320 million
- the establishment of an annual wealth tax of 2% on assets (excluding the family home or family farm) over €1 million to raise €1 billion
Meanwhile, Michael Noonan's claim that Saturday's protests would be the last were described as delusional by People Before Profit Alliance TD Richard Boyd Barrett.
He said: “Michael Noonan is totally fooling himself if he thinks this is the last rally of the rebellion that is now underway against the water charges. The genie of people power is out of the bottle and it won’t be easy for this government to put it back in unless they bow to the will of the people and abolish water charges.
At today’s protests across the country, the next big call for a national people’s assembly outside Dail Eireann on December 10th will go out. A demonstration during the working week will involve masses of people staying away from work or leaving work to descend on Dublin and flood the streets outside the national parliament when it is in session. Today’s 90 protests will not just be a rally but 90 organizing assemblies for the next phase of the rebellion on December 10th. The government has seen nothing yet.”
People Before Profit