Labour and FG tax offerings ‘very different’, says Burton

Tánaiste and Labour Party leader Joan Burton has said her party’s tax offering is “very different” from Coalition partners Fine Gael as the election campaign enters its final week.

Ms Burton also said Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats were offering a “large fat zero” to low and middle-income workers.

“Our tax package offering is very different. Remember before I became Tánaiste the Taoiseach and Fine Gael’s focus was on lowering the top rate of income tax,” she said.

Ms Burton said after she became Tánaiste in July 2014 she persuaded Fine Gael to “switch policies” and to focus on the USC.

“And in fairness to them after discussion they agreed to that and it’s the right thing to do.”

She said there were also “significant areas of difference” in terms of economic demands between Labour and Fine Gael.

“Fine Gael, for example, I saw in one of the papers today, has a very negative view on public sector pensions.”

Public sector

She was referring to a Sunday Business Post report that unions were angry about a Fine Gael plan to factor in the value of pensions in the next public sector pay deal for 300,000 workers.

Ms Burton said retail assistants, office administrators, nurses and teachers would pay between €1,043 and €1,768 less tax under Labour.

“What’s the Sinn Féin offer to each of those people? It’s a very large fat zero. That’s what Sinn Féin are offering. And I want to convey that message. That’s what the Social Democrats are offering.”

Ms Burton said only Labour would treat high earners fairly, while Sinn Féin would “nail them to the wall” and Fianna Fáil would give them relief that they did not need.

She would not be drawn on Labour’s showing in various opinion polls published this weekend.

She insisted lots of people had not made up their minds how they would vote on Friday.