Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

There is probably a legacy in this regard. I remember when tax rates were high, one would hear horror stories. Whether they were true or not is open to question. People would say they applied for a tax refund but that they ended up paying more tax. To an extent, there is still a little uncertainty because there is a perception that those who benefit most from the taxation system or who pay least employ professionals. That demonstrates a lack of understanding about how the taxation system works. That is why this amendment is a good one.

People believe they need expertise or that they are not competent to deal with taxation. I am surprised by the number of people who cannot figure out how much tax should be deducted from their salary or wages and how tax credits work, although I know it is being taught in some secondary schools. A large number of people cannot calculate what the bottom line should be despite being given a tax certificate. Some of us were well trained. When I first started work my father went through the calculations with me so that I would not be short-changed. There is a frivolity about that now because we now see a significant number of people incapable of even figuring out their own bottom line in terms of their income.

I am always surprised at the range of issues about which people contact me. Quite often, working people ask about their entitlements, and the last thing that occurs to them is that they are entitled to some of their own money back. In the past week I spoke to someone who never claimed mortgage interest relief. It is quite common not to claim medical expenses because people do not see the small sums involved totting up to a large sum at the end of the year. Bin charges are similar. People do not put these charges together in terms of how sums accumulate. When one sees the profile of people oblivious to their entitlements, to the fact that they can claim their own money back if they have overpaid, it is clear a problem exists.

People are not reading the documentation, a good deal of which arrives even with one's tax certificate. There is a need for one-to-one explanation. I do not see how that can be done without setting up an office which people will feel confident in contacting, without feeling they need to have a professional on the case.

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