A sociologist has claimed that around €20m is being lost to Revenue each year due to the high numbers of 'bogus' self-employed people.
Professor James Wickham, Head of School of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Trinity College Dublin, is one of the authors of the Think-tank Action for Social Change (TASC) report 'Enforced Flexibility? Working in Ireland Today'.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he explained that the self-employed are in a different tax band, which sees them pay more tax than an employed worker.
Professor Wickham added that self-employed individuals are also less entitled to State benefits because of their status.
Bogus self-employment is where the worker is forced to be a sole trader or operate through a company in order to be hired.
"The first effect is that you pay a different rate of PRSI. If you're self employed, you're in class S, if you're an employee, like most people in the system, you're in class A.
"What that means is, you pay a little bit more than somebody who is employed, but you have less of an entitlement to benefits, in particular to job seekers benefit.
"The actual State income is less because, of course, if you are self-employed there is no employer's contribution. And we reckon that at least €20m a year is being lost to Revenue because of this."
He said it is unknown how many people fall into this category as it is a difficult area to measure.
