Irish pay taxes in just four months

The average Irish worker spends less than four months working to pay income tax and Vat on their purchases throughout the year, the second shortest in the EU according to figures compiled by Ernst & Young.

The implicit tax rate on labour, however, has been increasing steadily since 2009, and in 2011, stood at 28%, the highest in over a decade, according to the European Commission’s report on tax trends.

But the country still has the fifth lowest level of taxes on labour at 12.1%, compared to an EU average of 19.7% in 2011, because of the low level of social contributions.