n my last two Budgets, I have made significant changes to corporation tax – both by lowering the standard rate to 38 per cent and by introducing a new rate of 30 per cent on the first £50,000 of taxable income. There is a clear longer term strategic need to reduce the standard rate of corporation tax over time so as to bring it closer to the 10 per cent rate which applies to manufacturing industry generally.
Accordingly, I propose to reduce the 38 per cent rate of corporation tax to 36 per cent and to reduce the 30 per cent rate to 28 per cent. The taxable income band to which the 28 per cent rate applies will remain at £50,000.
It is estimated that there were nearly 20,000 companies with taxable profits of £50,000 or less, paying tax at the standard rate in 1994. As a result of this year’s Budget, and the reductions in my previous two Budgets, such companies will now be paying tax at 28 per cent, as compared with 40 per cent in 1994. This is a real reduction of nearly one third in the tax rate for the small and medium sized Irish companies concerned. I recognise the important role that they have to play in our growing economy and I am also aware that this is where most of the new jobs have been created within our society.
The Government are studying the appropriate corporation tax structure for the longer term, bearing in mind the central importance of the 10 per cent rate for inward investment including the IFSC. I am conscious of the need to clarify this issue at an early date and I would hope to be in a position to make an announcement before too long.

Also Des O’Malley was the person to reduce manufacturing tax to 10% back in the early 80′s.
Anyway carry on

its what and how the money is spent thats most important and FF/PDs have more then proven over the last 10 years that they are incapable of spending the money properly. People are finally seeing the truth it took long enough but hopfully by end of next Thursday we will be rid of the Laurel and Hardy show that is FF/PD

where am I wrong? About Ray McSharry carrying on FG/LAB policies?

About the economic pocilies of the 1977 FF government which saw a massive increase in the civil service – tens of thousands of unnecessary appointments, wages we are still paying?
All appointed by FF to win votes – it crippled the country, quadrupled the national debt, left us in hock to the world bank and a hair’s breath away from being declared bankrupt.

you know nothing about this. Furthermore, you seem proud of your complete lack of understanding of the past – this complete lack of any historical context does not bother you at all. 1997 becomes 1987, and the sins of FF become the sins of labour and FG under Garret Fitzgerald.

Mind you, you have called enda and Pat a bunch of losers. Who needs facts when you have such rhetorical weapons to hand?

charlie called an election in 1989 – even though he hd been given minority rule by Dukes – because Pee Flynn, Ray Burke, and the rest of that slimy little gang, wanted to raise some money and could only do it during an election campaign.

An unnecessary general election, staged with taxpayer’s money, all to raise some shillings for the mohair suits. There’s your fucking FF economic policy.

and O’Malley bailed them out. Pathetic.
The economic policies of FF carried on by FG/LAB? Other way around, Dermot, other way around.

but, you see, most people don’t study history, only shoot off about how they want to distort time a la Star Trek and make it look like the last FG/LAB government was in 1987 – and that somehow it was them to got us into the mess.

Ray Mcsharry carried on the FG/LAB economic policies in 1987 – that’s why Dukes backed the FF minority government.

But hey, you know, fuck all of that. why bother with facts?

and as for economic policy – the 1987 and 1989 FF-led government merely continued the policies of the FG/LAB government, not the other way arounf. check out the Tallaght dstrategy. If we had continued the policies of FF from 1977 to 1981 we would have done a Mexico.
Again, stick to the facts. 1997 was the last FG/LAB government – the one that brought in the now so famous corporation tax? I know you don’t like it, but I’m not too bothered by that.

I think you should pay more attention .
I wasn’t referring to the so called rainbow coalition in 1997.FG DL and Labour weren’t in power together long enough to be judged and were merely implementing the policies of the outgoing FF administration. I judge FG and Labour by their record in government the last time the spent a full term in government together between 1982-87. If you bother to check the facts you will see that they are all true. Hard to beleive i know but nevertheless absolutely true. Why do you think that the people of Ireland have chosen to leave Fine Gael in opposition for the last twenty years ?

Well Ben perhaps next time if you had read my actually text and argued against what I actually said we wouldn’t have come to this in past.
What I said.

much for household debt they are not making people use credit cards

Note word “much for” (should have been much of but I think you would have guessed what i wrote if you read my text.)

you know nothing about this. your ignorance may keep you in bliss, but it makes for silly reading.

No, Simon. I’m saying that people do not use credit cards to buy consumer good alone. The hint is in the text, particularly “do not use credit cards to buy consumer good alone.” Come back when you have an argument against what I say, not what you hear.