Ray MacSharry introduced one of the harshest budgets in living memory which may have helped the economy back towards its eventual recovery. Current spending was cut by £246 million. At the same time he announced a public service pay freeze as well as an embargo on public sector recruitment. In a very unpopular move he axed three of four housing grants and announced a 10 per cent clawback in mortgage interest relief. He also introduced a 35 per cent withholding tax on all payments for professional services. And in total contrast to recent budgets he did not cut taxes or adjust bands to take account of inflation. Every taxpayer ended up worse off with the burden on the PAYE sector rising by 9.5 per cent.