Time to revisit the notion of ‘Tax Freedom Day’, writes Tom Healy.

Revenue penalties for incorrect tax returns are too severe, incentives for entrepreneurship are much less attractive than other EU countries and the cost of living is too high, business groups have told the Oireachtas Business Committee.

Lowering the cost of the Universal Social Charge by a percentage point for 1.28m taxpayers earning over €17,575 would cost the exchequer €364m, or over half of all the amount that Finance Minister Michael Noonan has indicated would be available for tax cuts in his pre-election budget next month.