You can't really extrapolate from one country's tax profile to the whole Euro area, but, yes, Ireland has a regressive tax policy in progressive clothing. The levies, for example, are really income tax but are largely exempt from income tax thresholds and allowances, so they fall heaviest on low earners.
the fact that VAT makes up such a large percentage of total tax means euro countries tax policies are actually pretty regressive, which runs kind of counter to all the 'socialism' claims.
Created by 
Loading…
Order: Chronological | Most Recent Comments 2
Add a commentBen Walsh Nov 18, 2009 4:07am
You can't really extrapolate from one country's tax profile to the whole Euro area, but, yes, Ireland has a regressive tax policy in progressive clothing. The levies, for example, are really income tax but are largely exempt from income tax thresholds and allowances, so they fall heaviest on low earners.
tao Nov 18, 2009 3:40am
the fact that VAT makes up such a large percentage of total tax means euro countries tax policies are actually pretty regressive, which runs kind of counter to all the 'socialism' claims.