It's "unfair"

Fr. Sean Healy, Director of the Conference of Religious in Ireland, says that it's

profoundly unfair that a person on a lower income has to pay substantially more for a treatment compared with a person on twice that income.

Dental treatment worth €1,000 costs a person on a lower income €800 after tax relief, he said, while a person on a higher income pays €590 net. Other schemes involving tax relief such as pensions and medical expenses also benefited the better paid.

Well, is it "fair" that a person earning €1,000 and paying tax at the higher rate pays €410 whereas the person on the lower rate pays only €200? The higher earner pays more for the education his children receive, the health care his family requires, the protection of the police, etc. Is that "fair"? It isn't, but it's the system we have.

Given the unfairness of the tax system it is right (forget "fair") that tax relief on medical bills be at the rate the each taxpayer pays his taxes.