I'm saying this as I duck behind a wall, "we should pay more tax". At least 2-3 pence to avoid becoming a third word country and 4-5 pence to look like the wealthy nation we are.
Yes we should pay more tax, but target those areas of financial gain/profit first that are not subject to any form of taxation be it income or capital gains tax as they tend to become tax free investment instruments eg classic cars, watches, art, wines. Why should someone earning money from a days work (and its taxed) be treated differently from someone earning money from selling his classic car, watch, fine wines. Tackle the untaxed investment instruments and capital gains first before increasing income tax rates. Level up the playing field so the burden doesn't fall further on the less advantaged in society, so we can take more out of the income tax regime altogether.
The level of state pension is also relative to the cost of living in each country, I can assure you the Irish state pension is not generous when the local cost of living is taken into account
