Over half of Irish people want to see the Universal Social Charge (USC) scrapped asap, whereas a further 29% think it needs to be phased out over the next few years.
This is according to a new survey released today by Taxback.com.
The Universal Social Charge (USC) is a tax on income that replaced both the income levy and the health levy (also known as the health contribution) since 1 January 2011.
You pay the USC if your gross income is more than €13,000 per year. (This limit was €4,004 in 2011, €10,036 from 2012 to 2014 and €12,012 in 2015).
The survey also highlights general consumer sentiment towards taxation in Ireland overall – with 42% saying it taxes the poor too much and the rich too little.
Twenty eight per cent say they don’t mind paying tax but they don’t know where it all goes – they’d like to see more accountability while 19% say it discriminates against those who have some money – but are not considered rich – middle income Ireland.
Tax and Payroll Director at www.taxback.com, Christine Keily commented, "In every country there is always going to be some discontent with the way taxes are gathered – but in Ireland it seems that most people know that taxes are a necessary evil but are not happy because they think they are taken unfairly from those who don’t have it & others are disheartned by the fact that they don’t see that we are getting good bang for our buck."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
