Sir, - I am disgusted by the blatant lies packaged as political commentary in Vincent Browne's column of February 2nd. To claim that the Progressive Democrats believe that taxation is theft and that people on the welfare system are freeloaders is, in his own words, "quite extraordinary".
He also made the very stupid and false assertion that the taxation policies espoused by the Progressive Democrats are "at the heart of the tax frauds".
Someone should tell Mr Browne that since 1989 the Progressive Democrats participated in two governments that reduced personal taxation by 22 percentage points. All the other parties that served in Government during that time managed to take only one solitary point off personal taxation.
Someone should tell Mr Browne that it was a Fianna Fail and Labour coalition, and not the Progressive Democrats, that introduced a tax amnesty to benefit the rich and the dishonest in society.
Someone should tell Mr Browne that it is thanks to the persistence of the Tanaiste, Mary Harney, that so many incidences of tax fraud are being investigated at the moment.
Someone should tell Mr Browne that it was penal rates of personal taxation and two tax amnesties that were "at the heart of the tax frauds" and not any policy promoted by the Progressive Democrats.
The Progressive Democrats, in Government, are committed to continue the reform of the tax system by further reducing rates to a standard rate of 20 per and a higher rate of 40 per cent.
I sincerely hope Mr Browne gets his facts straight before he comments on the Progressive Democrat taxation policy again. - Yours, etc.,
Cllr John Minihan, (National Chairman, Progressive Democrats), Loreto Park, Cross Douglas Road, Cork.