Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 466: To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department has carried out a review of the State's tax system to determine the extent to which vertical equity is achieved; and if he will make available the results of any such review. [28255/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to the Poverty Proofing done in the Budget Booklet each year, the tax tables showing average tax rates published each year in the same booklet, the annual survey of tax paid by high earners and the three volume report on the use of tax reliefs published last February.

In a review of the distributive impact of Budget 2006 in its published Quarterly Economic Commentary, the ESRI observed that "the direct tax and welfare provisions in Budget 2006 — including the new Early Childcare Supplement — were strongly progressive". It also observed that "Budget 2006 strongly favoured low-income groups, with smaller percentage gains for those on higher incomes".