Who will be most disappointed with Budget 2018? The self-employed and residential landlords

[T McGibney]

Of course they may. They discriminate between residents and non-residents, between those of different personal status - married, single and widowed, those who have children and those who do not, the employed and the self-employed, companies partnerships and sole traders, et seq.

That is the nature of taxation systems worldwide.

The Murphy case suggests otherwise.

The fact remains though that most cases of tax discrimination are never tested in the higher courts owing to the prohibitive cost of mounting a case.

 

[Sophrosyne]

The Murphy Case was taken on constitutional grounds that an unmarried couple living together could not have a tax advantage over a married couple living together.

However, it did not change the principle that tax law can differentiate between single people who are in a marital-type relationship and those who are not.

 

[Taxpert]

I can't understand that surcharge. If you take the risk to run your own business and do well, you should be rewarded, not penalised. But if I work in a large company with a secure job, I pay less tax than someone with no guarantees or job security.

I always look at the earned income benefit as better than nothing. It wasn't that long ago that there was no allowance. They aren't going to increase it by €700 in one year.

Steven
www.bluewaterfp.ie

The surcharge was brought in during one of the earlier crisis budgets. It was a last minute measure, and replaced some other planned measure which was deemed to be politically awkward (can't remember what).

Anyway the civil servants were tasked with plugging gap - quickly - and this was the wheeze they came up with.

They would have raised roughly the same had they increased income tax on public service pensions by 1%.

But pigs don't fly.