Indirect taxes need to be tackled so society doesn’t pay a toll later on

Between direct tax on wages and indirect tax eg Vat, surcharges, fuel excises ... Ireland collected over €37bn in 2013.

Michael Collins, senior researcher with Nevin Institute, has completed a study of the tax system by analysing information from household surveys, the CSO, and Department of Finance.

Its key findings are: The population on middle income pay the least amount of tax, while those on the bottom and top income pay the most tax.