Sir, - With all due respect to the Tanaiste, the fact that 12 per cent of income-tax payers pay over half of all income tax collected is not proof of substantial redistribution. We would need two additional pieces of information:
(a) What percentage of total income does these 12 per cent enjoy, before and after tax?
(b) How much do the poor benefit from the way tax revenues are spent?
Funnelling public funds into motorways benefits mainly the better-off who have cars. Children's allowances go to rich and poor alike. Subsidising expanded third-level education loses its redistributive effect if many of the poorer students drop out. And funding a vast sports complex won't help to end poverty. - Yours, etc.,
Michael Drury, Avenue Louise, Brussels, Belgium.