Dr. Tom McDonnell:

Indeed. I was on the Commission on Taxation and Welfare and we made a number of recommendations. Those recommendations were subsequently estimated by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council to amount to €14.5 billion in options. That does not imply that one would do them all. In terms of VAT specifically, one wants a simple VAT system that does not cause any distortions. This would imply perhaps having a zero rate for things that are absolute necessities such as food that people need to live. Beyond that, the optimum tax system for VAT would be a single VAT rate where a preferential advantage would not be given to particular sectors. Getting rid of all of the exemptions would allow the State to have a lower VAT rate overall, which would benefit consumers across the board.