I agree. There should be no increases in pensions or welfare rates in the coming budget.
Are income tax rates really too high in Ireland
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Firstly, once you exclude the 10% with no one working the number gets pushed up. In most cases these people don't really contribute anything.
Then thats the medium for working families. There is a considerable amount of people above medium who are still middle Ireland but outside the top.
Children's allowance is 1,680 per year.
There is also a strong argument that the funding of primary and secondary school is not a tax gift to parents but a service provided to the children who will pay it back as taxpayers.
Supporting services such as books, transport, after school care, extracurricular activities if paid for by the state would be a benefit to parents but often they are the ones where there has been a divide where once you are earning over x amount the parents fund.
I do think the state has made some progress in this area where school books and GP services are provided free at the point of service for all.
I think that's a misnomer, much like the tax I'm paying now isn't being put aside to pay for my pension in the future, the funds allocated to children's allowance don't come from some borrowed fund that they will repay. My pension will be paid for by those paying tax at the time just like it is current taxpayers who fund current expenditure.
So do I. That's what parents are getting for their taxes: education and healthcare for their children.
My typo, now corrected.
Thats not middle Ireland, that is a poor family. They hardly pay any taxes at all on 42k.
Politicians like to pretend indexation is a tax cut. One of the two reasons they like it to be a decision and not automatic: They can announce it as a tax cut, and they can use fiscal drag to "quietly" put up taxes.
The UK example shows that the population at large can actually be pretty fleeced by this approach without kicking up much of a fuss. They've had frozen bands for years now. On current plans the freeze Sunak brought in in 2021 will be on the books through 2031. And the 40% rate has been on-again-off-again frozen for a long time before that. In real terms, on a wage adjusted basis, it should probably be set at £75k instead of around £50k today.
I suspect you have never paid 60% income tax on a tradesman wages,
The people coming up to pension age and people already retired have paid very high income tax on low wages they are not going to lie down and accept a pension freeze,
In the real world for reasons stated above pensions cannot be cut or frozen the same goes for welfare, Welfare was at one stage linked to work the government changed it people who lost jobs when unemployment was very high in Ireland finished up getting the same as someone who never worked a day in there life,
you need to understand at one time income tax from PAYE sector funded most of government spending,
Income tax in Ireland is very low in the eyes of retired or about to retire people I know this may go over the top of your head and other posters and cause confusing but it might help people from getting over excited come next budget,
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I've been a Tradesman since 1994 and worked 6 and a half day weeks for almost 20 years. I went onto the highest tax band as a third year apprentice because I was working over 60 hours a week.
No skilled tradesperson is earning very low wages.
Sure, just don't increase it.
I agree, it should still be linked to previous earnings.
No, that was never the case. It was the single biggest contributor but never funded most expenditure. Before the PRSI ceiling was removed nobody ever contributed enough to fund their State pension so existing pensioners contributed far less than the current working population will have done when they retire.
Income tax was low in 1994 you are only a young 40 something and is shows,
Most people retiring now worked 60 Hour weeks including overtime,
Of all your arguments, you really need to drop this one as it makes no sense.
You received 1 education, I received 1 education, each of your kids will receive 1 education each.
A family with more kids or no kids don't receive more or less education. We've all gotten the same.
It doesn't factor into the net recipient/net contributor argument the way you describe it
1000%. Plus I'd love to see the economic model of the country in future if education wasn't universal. IDA Ireland "Reasons to invest in Ireland", #3 "Talent"
There is almost always a net return to the state on taxes spent. That doesn’t negate the fact that the State is spending the money you or I pay in taxes on educating our children. That is one of the many things we get for our taxes.
They are hardly going to openly advertise that we are a tax haven now are they? Do you believe all advertisements?
Yes I agree
Ireland has to reward lower paid work to service above model to work resulting in low tax levels on work that should carry a higher reward,
We have to accept we now have an unchangeable situation when it comes to FDI is likely to continue for a long time and our income tax system is built around the above and will not change for as long as above exist,
May not be very well stated but this is reality,
Billions of income tax is paid by people working in high tech, high wage employment that is necessary for their activities in Ireland. All the pharma plants in the country are hardly boilerplate names on a virtual office door.
It does highlight how precariously narrow our tax base is (the corporate taxes from a limit number of companies, and the income tax from their very highly paid employees) and a good reason to have broader taxes on lower incomes to reduce the shock of any downturn.
If you taxed lower incomes I suspect you will not understand but hear goes anyhow you will have lots of people on low incomes at present well able to support themselves and put a little away for a rainy day and like the last time we had a downturn did not need as much support,
it was possible to increase the tax base by tapping into lower incomes,
You may not understand the above but the Government do,
The reason we have a very high welfare state can be traced back to people who think like you and now complain about the cost of Welfare to the state,
It is better to give people the tool to look after themselves long term from working one of the tools is lower income tax so working people on lower wages so they are in a position to save a little and look after themselves in a downturn,
If you were in Ireland for last few weeks you should know by now who is been spoiled with all the tax money better leave it with the lower paid untaxed who go to work every day
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