7 in 10 people would be “tempted” to avail of the tax avoidance routes for the super-rich

Over 70% of people would consider trying to legally minimise their tax obligations and within this, 35% would definitely make use of any tax shelters available, a recent survey has found.

Taxback.com asked 3000 taxpayers their views on the wealth and tax in this country and found that only 27% of people said they would never avail of tax havens of tax avoidance structures.

However, 38% of taxpayers said they would be struck with a “moral dilemma” when deciding whether or not to avail of tax avoidance measures if they were in Ireland’s top 1% in terms of wealth.

Commenting on the findings, Senior Manager of Taxback.com, Barry Flanagan, said “The publication of the Panama papers in 2016 and the Paradise Papers late last year sparked a public debate surroundings the ethical behaviour of the super-rich – particularly those in the limelight. While it seemed that many people were quick to condemn those who use “creative” tax planning to find legitimate routes to circumvent taxation, I think our survey has shown an honest reality for many people…”

The survey also found that 67% of people would support changes in Ireland’s income tax regime, while 41% of people would like to see an overhaul of Ireland’s taxation system to make it more equitable.

The survey also asked whether or not they think it’s fair that the top earners paying a large portion of the overall tax take of the country. “The results of this question was interesting in their variation…17% of respondents said that the top earners should be taxed even more on their income. Conversely however, 15% believe that it would be to the detriment of our economy, as wealthy people would just move their money elsewhere.”

Written and edited by Amy Murphy, Journalism student from DCU.

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie or on Twitter: @SimonCocking