In 1980, IIIRC, I earned just over four thousand pounds (that was equivalent to ~$6.5K in US dollars) and paid approximately 2200 pounds of it back in income tax. I was living at home and did nothing but work and sleep. LBYM of course. Personal income tax rates in Ireland at that time were extremely high, even for people earning a moderate income. By the time I was completing my training in Ireland, I was earning about eight thousand pounds, or $13K. When I moved to the US as a Fellow I started earning $25K and paid much less in income tax. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.