Sir, - Kevin Myers's Irishman's Diary April 20th contains incredibly oversimplified arguments, surprising in that they come from the pen of a columnist who usually exudes common sense and insight. He claims that high taxes correspond to an unsuccessful welfare state and to a climate of tax evasion and social welfare fraud, and are born out of a misperception of the duties of the state. He says the state should leave welfare considerations, as far as possible, to private citizens.
First of all, it is obvious that the relative success of a welfare state does not depend simply on the broad overall level of taxation. It depends on the amount of disposable income available for taxation in the country at large, the levels of tax imposed on different economic groups, and, most importantly, how the money obtained by the exchequer is then distributed.
Evasion and fraud can be prevented by efficient administration. If Mr Myers were to examine the figures, he would realise that there is not, and never really was, a body of people large enough to make any real difference to the exchequer choosing to live on social welfare instead of working. In any case, using them as arguments against a high-tax economy is like arguing against stricter measures to help protect elderly widows living in isolated areas against attack on the grounds that these laws might be broken. It simply does not follow that taxes, or laws, should not be brought in, simply on the grounds that they might not be obeyed.
So, Mr Myers is left with one point of principle on which his whole argument stands. By raising taxes, the state is confiscating power from the taxpayer, and giving it all instead to the Minister for Finance - power, which, according to Mr Myers, should remain in the hands of the taxpayer. This is, of course, well enough for those who are in a position to earn a reasonable living wage. For those who do not, however, it is necessary that as much power as possible lies in the hands of the state, in order that they receive the money necessary to live on. - Is mise,
Conor Quinn, Ransboro, Co Sligo,