Ireland will need to introduce significant tax hikes to pay for the health service the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has warned.
In a report published this week from the think tank as the economy begins to recover from said that sizeable tax increases would be needed to fund health and other public services.
And those tax hikes are likely to be targeted at the Irish public with issues around corporation tax and motor tax cited as the reason.
The report said the Government needs to consider raising income taxes, increasing value added tax and charging more on property tax.
It adds that Ireland has an over-reliance on what it describes as "volatile" corporation taxes and said that the move to electric vehicles over the next number of years could lead to €3 bn in motor tax put at risk.
Increases common income taxes such as PRSI, USC are cited as being the most straightforward and equitable.
The ESRI report also looked at taxing pension lump sums and at a wealth tax.
The report also hit out at what it described as "economically dubious" tax reliefs on everything from property investments made in the crash to the inheritance of farms, pensions and the Help-to-Buy scheme, which it said is "poorly targeted".
It added over half of the €10.9 bn collected from corporation tax in 2019 came from just 10 large companies.
However, it said any increase in the 12.5% rate could have a negative effect on investment for international corporations which Ireland is home to.
The news will come as a blow to many who fear further economic hardship as we emerge from the pandemic.
The Government has moved to downplay the prospect of raising taxes to pay for the rampant spending seen throughout the pandemic in the form of supports and on the health care system.
Billions has already been spent on supports such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment as well a number of systems to battle the pandemic including tracking and tracing, the vaccine rollout programme and mandatory hotel quarantine.
