AIRO have developed an interactive graphic showing Exchequer Tax Receipts from 2000-2012 as reported by the Department of Finance.

The data provides an interesting overview of the volume of receipts, but also the relative proportion of tax generated from different sources.

There is a marked change in the relative proportion of different tax receipts between 2006 and 2012. Income tax has grown from 27.2% of all tax receipts in 2006 to 41.4% in 2012, VAT has dropped slightly from 29.5% to 27.8%, excise duty is roughly the same rising from 12.3% to 12.8%, corporation tax has fallen to 11.5% from 14.7%, stamp duty has fallen to 3.9% from 8.2%, and capital gains tax has fallen to 1.1% from 6.8%.

In other words the burden of tax receipts has very strongly shifted to individual income tax.  In fact, the trend on corporation tax has been declining since 2002, when it peaked at 16.4% despite the latter boom years and the fact that since then the volume and value of exports has grown.

The introduction of a local property tax is another tax burden on individual families.  It seems unconscionable that the relative share of the tax burden is only 11.5% for corporations and it does appear time that we had a full and open debate, with some decent scenario modelling as opposed to anecdote, spin and threats, on corporation tax and what the various implications of raising the rate, even by a modest amount, might be.

tax receipts

Rob Kitchin and Eoghan McCarthy