Brian Keegan: Vat’s it all about? Not much, next to the LPT

The lack of reaction to the Vat hike on online purchases shows us yet again that when it comes to taxes, we respond primarily by reference to what we last experienced

Vat is to all intents and purposes invisible, although for many of us it eats into our disposable income to a much greater extent even than income tax. Picture: Getty

On a day when they announced business supports to the value of hundreds of millions of euro, it must have been profoundly irritating for government ministers to see the relatively minor increases in local property tax grab the lion’s share of the headlines.

The employer wage subsidy scheme alone has cost the state almost €4 billion to date, and is now being extended to the end of this year. In comparison, LPT has never raised ...