Supporting your delivery of the Transition Year competition, Your Take on Tax
The Irish Tax Institute’s Your Take on Tax competition for Transition Year (TY) students aims to encourage students to engage with how tax policy can help respond to current social, economic, environmental and technological challenges. TY students across Ireland will be tasked with the role of policymakers for a chance to win a cash prize, calling on their creative and critical thinking skills.
The competition requires no prior tax knowledge and offers a great chance to connect classroom learning with real-world decision-making.
Learning Outcomes
By taking part in the competition, students will be able to:
- identify and explain a significant challenge.
- research and evaluate information from appropriate sources.
- describe, in simple terms, how tax can influence behaviour, fund public services, support investment or address policy challenges.
- develop a clear, practical and creative tax-based proposal in response to a real-world challenge.
- reflect on the potential impact of policy choices on people, communities, businesses and governments.
- work effectively as part of a team.
- communicate clearly through a short presentation.
2026 Theme
Ní Neart Go Cur Le Chéile: one challenge, your solution
For 2026, Your Tax on Tax is focusing on Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2026. During its tenure, Ireland will deliver its priorities – competitiveness, values and security – using the seanfhocal, ní neart go cur le chéile, as a guide.
There is no strength without unity should ring in students minds as they work collaboratively to investigate a challenge facing EU Members States and present one tax-based proposal that Ireland could champion during its Presidency.
Student Task
Research
Working in teams of up to three, students should investigate a current challenge affecting EU Member States, how it relates to tax and explore workable solutions to address the challenge. From climate change and housing to the digital economy and innovation, teams can choose any challenge that interests them.
Presentation Preparation
Once they have collated their data and information, the teams need to prepare a short presentation, no more than six slides, under the following headings – The Challenge, Tax Today, Your Idea, The Impact. See more details on the presentation structure below.
Presentation
The presentation should set out their selected challenge, explain how tax currently relates to that challenge, propose one tax idea Ireland could champion during its EU Presidency and explain the potential impact of the proposal.
Students are not expected to produce a technical tax report. The emphasis should be on clear thinking, creativity, practical reasoning and effective communication. They should be encouraged to explain their idea in language that another student could understand. See a sample presentation.
There are resources relevant to the Presidency, including a podcast episode, EU Presidency and Tax Policy, with the Minister of State for European Affairs, on the competition page.
Presentation Structure
Slide 1 - Cover Slide
Include the team name and one line summary of the proposal as the subtitle.
Slide 2 – The Challenge
Identify one challenge facing EU Member States. Students should explain why it matters and who it affects.
Slide 3 – Tax Today
Explain how taxation currently connects to the challenge. This may include how tax is used in the EU, how it is used in Ireland or how another country has used tax to address a similar challenge.
Slide 4 - Your Idea
Propose one tax idea that Ireland could champion during its EU Presidency. Students should explain what the idea is, how it would work at a simple level and why they think it is a good approach.
Slide 5 - The Impact
Explain the expected impact of the proposal. Students should consider benefits, possible challenges and who might be affected.
Slide 6 - Conclusion
Brief summary of the challenge and how the team’s proposal will address it.
Tips for Presentation
- Avoid overcrowding slides: Students should only include information that supports their argument. The presentation should be clear and visual.
- Own words: The information on the presentation should be written in the students’ own words.
- Note sources: Where students use facts, statistics or examples, they should note the source on the slide.
- Suitable for pdf reading: The entries will be delivered to the Institute as pdfs. Students should make sure their presentations are easy to follow and read without animations.
Entry Guidance
Entries must be submitted by the teacher on behalf of the students.The teacher must confirm they have the necessary parental/guardian permission to enter the team into the competition.
For data protection purposes, entries should only include team names. No individual student names should be provided at this point.
All selected entries should be uploaded as PDFs to the Your Take on Tax entry portal.
Entry deadline is Friday, 4 December 2026.
Suggested Classroom Delivery Plan
A draft seven lesson plan to support your delivery of the competition.
See the delivery plan