Imagine paying sales tax of 23 per cent or more. Or having your wages cut by 15 per cent. Here's a look at some of Europe's austerity pain...

Austerity has been the main prescription across Europe for dealing with the continent's nearly 3-year-old debt crisis, brought on by too much government spending. But what does it mean for the average European? Imagine paying sales tax of 23 per cent or more. Or having your wages cut by 15 per cent. Or, if you're in Ireland, both. Austerity comes in many forms: higher taxes, fewer state benefits, more job cuts, working longer until retirement, you name it.

In photo: Flames from a fire set alight in a container by activists of the Frankfurt Occupy movement are seen in front of the European Central Bank and a sculpture of the euro symbol in Frankfurt, Germany.