60% of taxpayers here would favour cuts to public spending over increased taxes if faced with the prospect of a tough Budget, the the latest Taxback.com Taxpayer Sentiment Survey reveals.
The survey asked over 2,100 taxpayers nationwide what measures they would support in Budget 2021.
46% of those surveyed said they would back a wealth tax on people's incomes over a certain threshold, while 20% could rationalise less money being put into social welfare.
The survey also revealed that just 5% of people wants to see a tax on people's savings, while just 3% want a tax on pension funds.
People also said they do not want an upward review of Local Property Tax, motor tax increases or an increase in Stamp Duty on homes.
Marian Ryan, Consumer Tax Manager at Taxback.com, said that we have been told we will not have an austerity budget to deal with, but she said that does not mean it will be a good news scenario either.
"The Government needs to both raise funds and stimulate spending - not an easy task," Ms Ryan stated.
She said the survey results were striking – more people are in favour of cuts to public spending (60%) than increased taxes (40%) and these people may well be satisfied with the announcement on October 13.
"But opting for cuts to spending brings with its own, often less immediately felt or noticed, repercussions," she cautioned.
Ms Ryan also said that according to Taxback.com's research over the years, a wealth tax is a consistently firm public favourite in terms of ways in which the Government could raise money for the Exchequer.
In 2018, the company conducted a survey in which 65% of respondents agreed that a new tax on accumulated wealth should be imposed and when the same question was asked in 2017, 87% were in favour of the tax.
In 2019, 52% of respondents said if the Government had to tighten the purse strings, they would support a wealth tax to do this.
Marian Ryan said the trouble with a wealth tax is how to decide on a threshold. "Introducing a wealth tax has been mooted for years - with certain political entities loudly voicing their support, while other contributors have suggested it could actually have negative repercussions on Ireland's ability to attract FDI and talent," she added.
