Who pays tax in Ireland? The little quiz revisited
Just like that! 200,000 jobs and the Government’s magic trick
In its first Budget, the Government managed to generate a correction of over €3bn without touching headline rates of tax or welfare, apart from a VAT increase that will barely break even. Magic, surely? This post explores the magic trick and finds it relies on the sleight of hand of assuming the equivalent of 200,000 new jobs in 2012, while still not grasping the nettle of reforming the three main areas of Government spending: social welfare, health and education. Read more
Should we let Michael O’Leary run our income tax system?
This post examines Michael O’Leary’s suggestions in relation to Ireland’s income tax system, in particular making it simpler and ensuring everyone contributes but not too much! It uses recently published Revenue Commissioners figures for income in 2008 to estimate who would like the proposal and who would hate it, Government included. It concludes with a few tweaks to the proposal, including in relation to income earned through social welfare. Read more
How can Ireland tax and grow: a video discussion
How can Ireland tax and grow? Thoughts for Budget 2011
With Ireland’s next Budget now just seven weeks away, a plethora of proposals for what to do (and not to do) are being announced weekly. This post discusses just two measures – on income tax and on property tax – that could meet the Government’s targets of €2bn in new revenue next year and €6bn in new revenue by 2015. Read more
Five things to remember when judging Budget 2010
This post outlines some key considerations in Ireland’s Budget 2010, including the scale of the challenge the government faces, the imperative to cut spending, the growing role of national debt, capital expenditure and over-reliance on income taxes. It also makes some recommendations for measures in relation to tax credits, property tax and VAT. Read more
Turkeys voting for Christmas? The people call for (major) tax hikes
Last week, over 200 people filled out a simple quiz on Ireland’s tax system. The results are revealing. As one might expect, people think the system is far less progressive than it actually is and that the typical worker is paying a significant amount more in tax than they actually are. Perhaps the more surprising result is the broad consensus across all groupings about what the tax burden on typical workers should be: 23%, rather than the current 4%. Read more
A little quiz on Ireland’s income tax
Income tax will form more than one third of Ireland’s tax take in 2009. Yet, if the wild claims about who does or doesn’t pay what are anything to go by, the nature of Ireland’s income tax regime is poorly understood. This post includes a little quiz to see whether some key aspects of Ireland system are understood and where readers think the system should be. It also outlines some startling findings in relation to income tax, but don’t forget to answer the questions before you read the findings! Read more
Can we ignore higher corporate and property taxes?
S&P has downgraded Ireland’s debt rating – again – while latest Government figures show that Ireland faces a €12bn hole in its tax revenues this year, compared to 2007. This post outlines where the hole has come from and how it can be tackled. This will require an open debate, though, which will involve sacred cows such as Ireland’s corporate tax rate and a property tax. Read more