–Policymakers Stress Ireland’s Commitment To 2014 Target
BRUSSELS (MNI) – Ireland’s citizens and companies will face tax
increases as the country’s government grapples with its huge budget
deficit, Olli Rehn, the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary
Affairs, said on Friday.
The cost of bailing out Ireland’s banking system will push the
country’s budget deficit to 32% of its GDP this year. The Irish
government has committed to getting the deficit below the EU’s 3% limit
by 2014. Stripping out the bank costs, the European Commission predicts
Ireland’s deficit will be 11.7% this year, the largest in the Eurozone.
“I do not want to take any precise stand on an issue which is a
matter for the Irish government,” Rehn told reporters after a two-day
meeting of central bankers and finance ministers here on Friday. But he
went on to say:
“Ireland will not continue as a low tax country, rather it will
become a normal tax country in the context of the European Union.”
Both Rehn and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet
said they noted Ireland’s commitment to bringing the deficit back to
below 3% of GDP by 2014.
Trichet said the commitment of the Irish government to correct the
excessive deficit was “absolutely essential in terms of credibility of
the country.”
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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