Cllr Gino Kenny, the People Before Profit-United Left Alliance candidate for Dublin Mid West, has called for a new PAYE revolt against tax hikes.
"In the early 1980s, there were huge demonstrations against the injustice of loading extra tax increases onto PAYE workers while other social groups were exempted. We need a ‘day of wrath’ to express our anger against the latest attempt to make PAYE workers pay for the economic mess. The Universal Social Charge should be called the bankers’ tax. It is a levy imposed on us to pay off bankers and bondholders."
Department of Finance figures indicate that the government hopes to raise €420 million from this new levy this year. Tax hikes on PAYE workers from the reduction in tax credits are due to bring in a further €1.2 billion.
But a 1 percent wealth on the 33,000 Irish millionaires, who have a combined €121 billion in assets between them, could have raised a similar amount.
If we stopped paying off bondholders, there would be no need for any of these changes. The needs of Irish workers should come before the coffers of Goldman Sachs
The government made a political choice to hit out at low and middle income workers rather than tackle the Irish wealthy or their friends among the bondholders. They saw PAYE workers as an essay touch and thought it could get away with these savage attacks without resistance.
The main opposition parties in Fine Gael and Labour have expressed disapproval of these tax hikes. But they facilitated the passage of the Finance Bill to prevent the people having their say on the issue during the general election. They have refused to give clear commitments to reverse the tax hikes or the Universal Social Charge. The United Left Alliance, however, has no fear of saying that it will vote to reverse these charges and will use its Dail seats to help mount PAYE protests against them.