A COMMITMENT to cut the top rate of income tax by five percentage points over five years will he the highlight of Fianna Fail's election manifesto, to be unveiled on Friday.
The manifesto, a closely-guarded secret, is expected to reduce the top rate of income tax from 48 per cent to 43 per cent over the lifetime of the next government. The standard tax rate of 26 per cent will also be reduced.
It is also understood a key pro vision in the tax programme will cover first-time entrants into the tax system.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, is expected to fix a time with the President, Mrs Robinson, this morning for the dissolution of the 27th Dail tomorrow. He is due to visit Aras an Uachtarain with the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, at 11.30 a.m. for the appointment of two judges.
The formal decision to call the general election before lunch tomorrow was confirmed by the three Coalition leaders at their pre-Cabinet meeting yesterday. Polling day is expected to be on Friday, June 6th.
Within hours of the dissolution, the Rainbow Coalition plans to launch its common election manifesto at a joint public meeting of the Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left parliamentary parties at the Shelbourne hotel, Dublin, at 3 p.m.
Mr Bruton, accompanied by the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, and the Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, will unveil their "21 goals for the 21st century", which is also believed to contain find tax commitments.
The Fianna Fail frontbench conducted a final wrap-up of its manifesto at yesterday's meeting. The party's chief whip, Mr Dermot Ahern, said afterwards there were "tax targets" in the programme. The Department of Finance had confirmed its costings.
He described the party's tax proposals as "innovative" and based on a five-year term.
With the election imminent, senior Government programme managers are examining the separate party manifestos for the campaign to ensure that there are no glaring inconsistencies in the three documents.
Democratic Left will launch its campaign with the publication of a document on long-term unemployment on Friday afternoon.
The Progressive Democrats leader, Ms Harney, will launch her party's campaign in Galway at 10.30 a.m. on Friday. Their election manifesto will be published in Dublin next Wednesday.
The Dunnes Stores payments tribunal, meanwhile, is seeking to have witnesses compelled to give evidence in the Cayman Islands concerning the £1.3 million allegedly paid by Mr Ben Dunne to the former Fianna Fail Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey.
The interim report of the tribunal, put before the Dail yesterday, says that the tribunal hopes to have its final report ready by the end of August or early September. If the application to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands is granted, the tribunal hopes evidence will be taken there in the first week of next month.
Mr Justice McCracken states in the report, however, that "it must be realised that it is impossible to have any certainty in that regard".
It seems highly unlikely, therefore, that any further tribunal sittings will take place in Ireland until after the general election. Once the Cayman Islands evidence is taken, according to the report, and further investigations have been completed, there will be a number of witnesses to give evidence in Dublin.
Mr Justice McCracken hopes that all evidence will be completed by late June or early July.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach announced yesterday that the Government had agreed to introduce a new corporate tax regime that would involve a single rate of 12 1/2 per cent on profits arising from trading activity and a rate of 25 per cent on profits on nongrading activity.
The new regime would become effective from the beginning of the year 2011 for companies availing of the 10 per cent manufacturing rate of corporation tax and from the year 2006 for all other companies.
A commitment to reduce the rate of unemployment to under 6 per cent by the year 2007 and the rate of long-term unemployment to below 3.5 per cent is also contained in the Government's policy document for enterprise and jobs, published yesterday.
