The Finance Minister says the charge brings in too much money – and that it's easier to change than income taxes are.
The USC – which was cut for lower earners yesterday, but raised for higher ones – is responsible for around a quarter of all income tax.
And although the government has now floated the idea of reversing some other financial measure – like the private pension levy, or pay cuts for public workers – it seems the Social Charge will be staying.
Last night the finance minister Michael Noonan said he had no plans to merge the charge with the straightforward income tax – and that it's actually more “flexible” than income taxes are.
He said the charge was designed to be easier to change – so it's much simpler to increase rates for higher earners in the social charge, than it is to raise the income tax.
And he also said that a tax which brings in over €4 billion is difficult to scrap – suggesting that while other relics from the crisis might eventually be scrapped, Universal Social Charge is here to stay.
