FG TDs urge Leo to slash taxes

LEO VARADKAR has been warned by his TDs that the party will not tolerate a failure to cut taxes significantly in Budget 2019.

Ministers and TDs reacted with unease to the Taoiseach saying this week that only a third of the expected €3bn-plus fiscal space would be available for tax cuts. Fine Gael had promised before the general election to abolish the USC and introduce tax cuts. But the party’s confidence-and-supply deal with Fianna Fáil ties it to a ‘minimum 2:1 investment to tax reduction ratio’. Some Fine Gael TDs are now unhappy with this restriction, with one source saying: ‘The voters want gravy and they want it now.’

Despite the urgings of Fine Gael TDs, there is no indication that Fianna Fáil would agree to bigger tax cuts.