TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said it is a priority for him that income tax and the USC is reduced for middle income workers. 

Speaking to reporters at the Irish Centre in New York, he said it is important that such changes are made to the tax system at a time when the government can afford it. 

He said it is important that “people get to keep more of the money they earn”.

“I know there are some people in politics, particularly on the left, who believe that a tax cut is the government giving you money. It’s not – a tax cut is the government letting you keep more of the money you earned in the first place,” said Varadkar. 

Varadkar said he wants income taxes and USC cuts, particularly for middle income workers, as he said they are “ones that pay the most”. 

He said someone on €40,000 today pays about €3,000 less in income tax and USC than somebody earning the same amount of money in 2014.

“So we’ve made a big difference already. That’s how much worse off you’d be under a left-wing government, if we had one in Ireland. We want to make sure that gap continues to get wider,” he added. 

Varadkar will return from New York over the weekend, with crunch budget talks set to begin next week between the three coalition leaders. 

Budget day will be held on 11 October.

Political Correspondent Christina Finn reporting from New York