The average industrial wage earner should not have to pay tax at the highest rate, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, has said.
In her speech to the social partners at the annual review of Sustaining Progress in Dublin Castle today, Ms Harney said she was confident the issue will be addressed in future budgets.
She reminded the forum that "this goal was very far from being achieved in all of the 1990s and was not even universally accepted as a policy goal."
Ms Harney warned against removing the State's 12.5 per cent corporation tax, claiming "it would be damaging way beyond any benefits of theoretical new revenue".
She said: "Our low corporation tax rate is now bringing in over €5 billion in tax revenue, two-and-a-half times the amount when the rate was 36 per cent.
"We made this commitment to a 12½ per cent rate to international investors and they made medium and long term investments based on it."
Ms Harney said: "We have come through a real global slowdown in economic activity maintaining high levels of employment and high levels of public investment".
She said Sustaining Progress contained "an agreed commitment to hold current spending growth to the level of growth in GNP".
Ms Harney said despite people's reticence to speak about limiting spending this is "an unavoidable policy choice".
