Lower revenues from income taxes, property taxes and taxes on goods and services pushed tax-to-GDP ratios down ... to 28.3% [2008] from 30.8% [2007] in Ireland.
From the OECD report summary. In 2007 Ireland was just a little higher in the table, above Slovakia, Switzerland, and Japan before the same final four as in 2008.
I thought the conventional wisdom was that Ireland had low taxes, but I'm not there paying them, so what would I know?
(How much of GDP escapes tax because of breaks for foreign corporations?)
I imagine the story is different externally.
We actually need a complete reform of the tax system, which was obvious during the good times and should have been done then. Of course it wasn't.
