Fianna Fáil today accused Fine Gael of "incredibly regressive" tax policies "weighted towards the wealthiest" in society, a claim dismissed as "propaganda" by the opposition party.
Publishing his party's tax proposals, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen said 97 per cent of taxpayers would get a better deal under Fianna Fáil's tax proposals than under Fine Gael and Labour.
But Fine Gael said it had specifically targeted real relief for single income families and those caring for a child or elderly parent - a standard rate cut that "helps every taxpayer".
Brian Cowen: They say they are going to have a balanced budget, but they are not putting in front of the people a proposal that will give them one
"The people who benefit most from the Fine Gael and Labour proposal are single people earning over a quarter of a million, married couples over half a million and 71,000 families where one income is coming into the household with earnings of greater than €60,000," Mr Cowen said.
"That's about 75,500 families in a workforce of 2.2 million income earners," Mr Cowen said.
He said it seemed to him that people now had an opportunity "to reflect". Over the coming days, he said, Fianna Fáil would put "increasing scrutiny" on Fine Gael's 'contract' and on its fine print.
Fine Gael deputy leader and finance spokesman Richard Bruton said Fianna Fáil's claims about his party's tax proposals were "propaganda". Mr Bruton said the biggest winners in the Fine Gael manifesto were single-income families with two children on a salary of €60,000. The income of such a family would increase by 10.4 per cent under Fine Gael, he said.
"The facts on the parties' different tax policies are clear. Fine Gael has targeted real relief for single income families and those caring for a child or elderly parent, a standard rate cut that helps every taxpayer. Fine Gael will also bring in significantly lower stamp duty for everyone.
"Fianna Fáil, on the other hand, has chosen to focus almost exclusively on rate adjustments, including the top rate, and a risky PRSI scheme that could compromise the social insurance fund.
"Fine Gael makes no apologies for focusing its tax policy on supporting families. Families are the most important institution in our country and are facing unprecedented pressure with the cost of living soaring under Fianna Fáil."
Mr Bruton said his party also had a comprehensive plan to overhaul the "oppressive" stamp duty regime, an issue to which Fianna Fáil had been dragged "kicking and screaming".
Earlier, Mr Cowen claimed Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny had "admitted" in last night's televised debate against Taoiseach Bertie Ahern that Fine Gael could not afford to provide its promised 2,300 extra acute hospital beds within the budgetary framework it had set out for its health manifesto.
He said Mr Kenny had made commitments that exceed his €2.9 billion spending plan "quite apart from any other negotiations he might have to entertain" [from other parties].
Mr Cowen said that if Fine Gael was going to work within its €2.4 billion health programme, it needed to say "what falls off the table" if it re-prioritised the 2,300 beds it had promised within the framework of the National Development Plan (NDP).
The Minister denied Fianna Fáil's own production of 500 new beds in its health plan was "a stunt".
He said what was laid out in the NDP was Fianna Fáil's "bedrock" proposal. But there were other things the party believed it could do on the basis of growth in the economy and the tax take over the lifetime of the next government.