The Minister for Finance Mr Quinn, was warned not to press ahead with plans to tax credit union savings. Mr Con Donovan, of Mandate's southern division, said property speculators who bought new developments "are entitled to tax relief on the fellow who cuts the grass, let alone everything else". Mr Quinn should go after these people rather than "the few pounds in the credit unions.
PAYE workers were being conned into believing they would be paying £900 million less in tax under Partnership 2000, but in reality they would be paying more tax than ever. In the past two years the PAYE sector had paid £7.5 billion in tax.
Calls for tax reform had become little more than a ritual at union conferences. Mandate now had to go out and campaign seriously on these issues.