WELL over £100 of weekly income would be exempted entirely from tax, under plans to be put forward by the Labour Party and Democratic Left in their manifestos.
These proposals will be unveiled today and tomorrow as the debate between the parties of tax reform takes centre stage in the election battle.
Both the Labour Party and Democratic Left will propose major increases in personal tax allowances over five years as the key element of their tax reform plans. These allowances currently mean the first £69 of weekly income for a single person - or £138 for a married couple - is not taxed.
Under the Labour and Democratic Left plans, the personal allowances would rise substantially, exempting approximately she first £110 of weekly income from income tax.
Labour and Democratic Left will argue that increasing allowances particularly helps middle to low wage earners earning £15,000 or less. But Fianna Fail, in a statement yesterday, insisted that its plans would also benefit low to middle income earners, particularly by ensuring that 80 per cent of workers paid tax only at the standard rate and by introducing a new 20 per cent rate.
Like Fine Gael, both Labour and Democratic Left will put major emphasis on increases in income tax and PRSI allowances - although they propose bigger increases here than the larger party. Labour and Democratic Left will also propose substantial widening of the standard rate income tax band. But unlike Fine Gael, they will not call for a cut in the 48 per cent income tax rate. Both are expected to support reductions in the standard 26 per cent rate.
Labour will also commit itself to keeping growth in current spending below the overall growth rate in the economy.
Democratic Left's document, to be published tomorrow, will call for a new allowance exempting the first £80 of weekly income from the 2.25 per cent health and employment levies. The party is also to propose a new tax on currency trading to deter speculation.
Another proposal from Democratic Left calls for the establishment of a Police Liaison Committee on a statutory basis. The move would require legislation and involve senior Gardai appearing before the committee once a month to account for policing standards.
Publication of the Labour and Democratic Left manifestos will be followed on Thursday by the unveiling of the Progressive Democrats' proposals, under which unemployed people refusing to accept "a reasonable offer" of training or work experience would lose their entitlement to social welfare payments.
The manifesto also proposes increasing the old age pension to £100 over the lifetime of the next government.
In a major new reform of the dole system, the party suggests the transfer of all aspects of employment, including unemployment benefits, to the Department of Enterprise and Employment. The Department of Social Welfare "should have no role in the labour market", it says.
It calls for the establishment of a National Employment Service to provide a professional job placement and advisory service to the unemployed. It suggests tax breaks for working parents in relation to childminding expenses.
A new system is suggested for making appointments to the boards of state and semistate companies to make the process less open to political abuse.
The proposed allowance for childminding expenses mirrors the proposal from Fianna Fail for a £2,000 allowance at the standard tax rate for the purpose.
The PD manifesto will not specify the size of the allowance, however, and suggests it should be phased in over a number of years. Fianna Fail says it would introduce the plan in its first Budget.
Fianna Fail has also proposed a similar allowance to married couples where one stays at home to mind children, but the PD manifesto is understood not to have a specific reference to such an allowance.
The party proposes that all ministerial nominations to boards of semistate companies and bodies should first be brought before a Dail committee. The relevant minister would have to justify the nomination by showing that the person nominated was qualified for the position.