Families score best on Irish tax system

IRELAND has the most family-friendly tax regime in the world, with some low-paid families getting more than their wages — thanks to state allowances.

An OECD report looked at the amount of money families lose in income tax and social welfare contributions and offset it against payments from the state such as children’s allowances. Ireland is well down a world list of earnings in terms of gross wages. But a married couple on average earnings with two children, with just one person working, is better off in Ireland than most of the EU countries, the US, Japan and Australia.

Due to a mixture of relatively low income tax rates, a high threshold before a person becomes liable to pay tax and low social welfare contributions, the average Irish family pays less than almost all others.