The Irish Times published a letter by me two days ago making the point that I blogged about here recently- reiterating a point made by Brendan Walsh previously . In today’s paper a Dr Howell attempts to take me to task but gets it seriously wrong. A prize for anyone who can spot the flaw in his argument.
- Post script: Brendan Walsh & I reply here (letters August 1st)
I’m not up to date with our tax system in detail, but is VAT not charged on alcohol as well as other consumption goods? So €100 spent on alcohol will bring in excise duties plus VAT whereas €100 spent on cinema tickets will bring in only VAT.
Yes, thats one reason why the level of taxation on alcohol & tobacco is so high relative to most other goods and services (apart from tobacco & petrol). Brendan Walsh & I have sent in a response to Dr Howell’s letter so we’ll see if it is published.