James

Ireland's personal taxation regime is the second worst among 38 peer countries according to the Tax Foundation. High marginal taxes (paid at very modest thresholds) have been in place since 2008. There has been almost no improvement over two decades despite having the resources to do so - a relentless rise in government expenditure has been prioritised year after year. A simple example illustrates how bad it is. The average electrician or plumber working for construction company will be on the top marginal rate, whereby the state takes more of every additional euro than the person gets to keep. If he/she wants to earn self employed income, the government will take more than the worker, and a tax return will have to be filed, involving time and/or accountancy fees. Is it any wonder finding tradespeople is hard?

A huge share of employees in Ireland fall into the top personal (income) tax band, levied at over 50% all in. This means that the government takes more of any pay increase and additional non-salary income than the individual does. This regime, in place for 18 years, is a brutal disincentive to work and explains why Ireland's personal tax system is ranked 37th out of 38 in the developed world.