Sir, - Politicians and commentators were not slow to draw attention to the radical implications of Charlie McCreevy's plan to "individualise" the taxation system. However, there is now a real danger that the initial outcry over the gross injustice of Mr McCreevy's scheme will prove short-lived and ineffectual.
Because "individualisation" is being phased in over time (and it is already well advanced), the surprise and indignation with which the public (particularly married couples) first received it may well turn to resignation and even acceptance. Indeed, I believe this is what members of the present Fianna Failled Government are counting on. They have surprised us with "individualisation". Perhaps voters should to surprise them in the next general election.
No amount of spin-doctoring can conceal the inequity of "individualisation". It penalises married couples who choose to give full-time care to their children. The Government is effectively seeking to manipulate the choice of parents about how to bring up their own children. With no disrespect to dual-income families, they have no inherent right for their collective earnings to be treated more favourably than the earnings of a single income family. Undoubtedly, many beneficiaries of "individualisation" recognise this themselves. - Yours, etc., David Thunder,
Mount Prospect Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3.