I think Brian Cowen's speech is most likely paving the way for tax increases. Does anyone have any predictions where the increases will fall?

My candidates for increases:
- top band of income tax
- PRSI
- inheritance tax.
- cigarettes
- alcohol
- VAT on Tattoos, piercings, McClaren/Bugaboo strollers and sports bras.

They shouldn't increase taxes. That chokes off demand growth and takes money out of the economy. They should focus on spending cuts and value-for-money drives in each department. Cutting back on nonsenses like the Metro which costs billions would be better than hitting tax-payers again. We pay enough tax, too much in certain areas. The Government must economise and increase efficiency.

Cigarettes ? The EC has referred Ireland and Austria to the Court of Justice already for price fixing ( EUROPA ) which I believe is absolutely right as the Government has been robbing Joe Soap to apparently pay Dr. Paul who deals with the health side-effects from smoking but that's a farce - there's no way the revenue from fags can be justified as going to cover for that health bill - it's that and six times more if not more.

I hope the case in the ECJ goes against our Government - it's better to leave the money in Joe Soap-opera watchers's pocket rather than put it in the Government coffers as I'm really not sure it gets dealt with as equitably as Joe Soapbox can deal with it by spending it into the economy in a nice unpredictable way.

I've a feeling that raising this tax would only earn Dr. Paul a bigger bloody Merc or Moody, no more.

Do you think that there will be no increase in taxes so? I guess you might be right as any such move may prejudice the partnership talks.

Zhou_Enlai wrote:

Do you think that there will be no increase in taxes so? I guess you might be right as any such move may prejudice the partnership talks.

If they increase taxes that'll just make the unions look for big increases which are just not going to pass with employers. The talks would collapse against an environment of rising taxes.

We should look to privatise semi-state companies, sell council houses to tenants and such-like to raise additional funds to ones which we should borrow. I have no problem with National Debt rising a bit in the next 2-3 years if it avoids ruinous talk of tax hikes which are the wrong measure to apply.

The cost of living needs to be kept under control, someone tell them ffs.

Inheritance tax - is that taxing the rich ? mmhhm ...

The Revenue is like a junkie without a fix at the moment. They will be running after every tiny minor non-compliance. Having said that, they just popped an unexpected few thousand into my account that was overpaid last year -- the wages of virtue (without interest, sadly).

I get the feeling that there will be tax increases. Government has got the taste of blood now, they have learned to love spending. It will be hard to stop them.

You'll get a few more solar panels and start exporting soon so ?

We're taxing the energy-greedy and more of that would be no harm. A greed tax is what I say. Ration the motor fuel - if you buy more than 5 litres a day you pay twice, heh heh ; food with plenty of fat in it or that takes the most energy to bring to your gob - tax that; tax the tools who built McMansions in the middle of Kilshanny - tax the living bejaysus out of the space they are trying to heat every winter and it might encourage them to trade down and buy older and smaller. Their vacated monuments could be converted to nursing homes or small hotels or hospitals - something the country is short of.

Hotels will be useful when people have to cycle from Kilshanny to Liscannor for their morning bread and need to pop in for coffee or a rest and read of the paper. People can overnight in those sorts of places on their way to Galway through the Burren.

Auditor #9 wrote:

You'll get a few more solar panels and start exporting soon so ?

We're taxing the energy-greedy and more of that would be no harm. A greed tax is what I say. Ration the motor fuel - if you buy more than 5 litres a day you pay twice, heh heh ; food with plenty of fat in it or that takes the most energy to bring to your gob - tax that; tax the tools who built McMansions in the middle of Kilshanny - tax the living bejaysus out of the space they are trying to heat every winter and it might encourage them to trade down and buy older and smaller. Their vacated monuments could be converted to nursing homes or small hotels or hospitals - something the country is short of.

Hotels will be useful when people have to cycle from Kilshanny to Liscannor for their morning bread and need to pop in for coffee or a rest and read of the paper. People can overnight in those sorts of places on their way to Galway through the Burren.

I would increase civil service PRSI up to the same as everyone else for starters.

Is cutting public sector wages a vote winner or loser, do you think?

Tax non essential goods that we do not ourselves make. High end cars, wall to wall home televisions, and I agree a lot of the packaged foods. Encourage a more thrifty life style and reduce imports.

Taxes are to cover government spending. If I earn less I spend less, so perhaps we should ask where should the governments surgical blade be applied?

I would start with the road building programme, let us see what higher fuel prices does not only to car journeys, but in the long run to housing demand in many areas.

Road building will not make a massive difference, so what do we cut to make a really big saving or is there large efficiency savings to be had and how do we achieve what we have so far been unable to?

Oh great.

More bastards making off with our money

cactus flower wrote:

Is cutting public sector wages a vote winner or loser, do you think?

Nobody is proposing cuts - just no increases.

In general, targetting savings in the public services through wage restraint or reform of practices without additional pay is a winner because everybody else in the country feels their jobs and income hanging by a thread while billions go down the drain through inefficient practices. IMO, people are particularly sick of the Gardai, the Prison Officers, the Postmen, Irish Rail, the Health Service, the Department of Education, the Department of Justice and the Local Authorities.

The unions are right to say that those at the bottom need assistance but their denial of a need for restraint generally is grating for the man on the street. If Mary Harney was able to face down the nurses in the run up to the election then it is logical to think that the Government cold face down anyone now.

With that said, I think both sides are posturing at the moment and we will be ok unless there are a few new serious thickos at the head of the process . It was scary to hear the union guy on Morning Ireland saying that the process was not moving on in earnest due to the distractions of Lisbon.

Squire wrote:

Tax non essential goods that we do not ourselves make. High end cars, wall to wall home televisions, and I agree a lot of the packaged foods. Encourage a more thrifty life style and reduce imports.

Taxes are to cover government spending. If I earn less I spend less, so perhaps we should ask where should the governments surgical blade be applied?

I would start with the road building programme, let us see what higher fuel prices does not only to car journeys, but in the long run to housing demand in many areas.

Road building will not make a massive difference, so what do we cut to make a really big saving or is there large efficiency savings to be had and how do we achieve what we have so far been unable to?

Current spending should be the first to go. It is easy to do and is quick to resume once the upturn comes next year.

Capital spending on things like essential transport links, education and broadband should be preserved. We shouldn't be afraid to borrow to meet these infrastructureal commitments.

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

I would increase civil service PRSI up to the same as everyone else for starters.

I'm in favour. I won't have to pay for my next eye test then.

cactus flower wrote:

Is cutting public sector wages a vote winner or loser, do you think?

What do you think?

Squire wrote:

Tax non essential goods that we do not ourselves make....

All these things are already taxed to the hilt. Also in a recession nobody is going to be able to afford them anyway.

Zhou_Enlai wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Nobody is proposing cuts - just no increases..

Nobody is proposing cuts - just no increases.....

I'll go for that if you'll back a price freeze on things like electricity, natural gas, food, clothes and fuel. This will also benefit the private sector which must also be prepared for a wage freeze.

Lestat wrote:

This will also benefit the private sector which must also be prepared for a wage freeze.

The average private sector employee does not have much choice as to whether they accept a wage freeze or not.

Lestat wrote:

Zhou_Enlai wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Nobody is proposing cuts - just no increases..

Nobody is proposing cuts - just no increases.....

I'll go for that if you'll back a price freeze on things like electricity, natural gas, food, clothes and fuel. This will also benefit the private sector which must also be prepared for a wage freeze.

Sounds magic - how can we do that though?

Zhou_Enlai wrote:

Lestat wrote:

Zhou_Enlai wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Nobody is proposing cuts - just no increases..

Nobody is proposing cuts - just no increases.....

I'll go for that if you'll back a price freeze on things like electricity, natural gas, food, clothes and fuel. This will also benefit the private sector which must also be prepared for a wage freeze.

Sounds magic - how can we do that though?

With great difficulty. This sort of action needs a widespread national agreement and discussion so we have all the stakeholders on board as we turn the economy around.

Would that Lestat proposal above be easier to implement if we had control over our currency ? I can't remember exactly but were we able to devalue our currency at will so as to make imports either more expensive or cheaper (I can't think which is which for the dyslexia ) and thereby control prices generally in the economy ?

Please forgive if I'm talking poppycock there.

Auditor #9 wrote:

Would that Lestat proposal above be easier to implement if we had control over our currency ? I can't remember exactly but were we able to devalue our currency at will so as to make imports either more expensive or cheaper (I can't think which is which for the dyslexia ) and thereby control prices generally in the economy ?

Please forgive if I'm talking poppycock there.

The problem with having a currency on our own is that we lose access to the European capital markets and Irish banks can't draw ECB money to support their businesses.

Having our own currency also leaves us prey to currency speculators having a bet on destroying the value of the punt. As part of the €uro, that is more difficult.

If our currency is weaker, that makes exports cheaper and imports more expensive. Governments have used devaluations in the past to bring the economy into balance.

johnfás wrote:

The average private sector employee does not have much choice as to whether they accept a wage freeze or not.

The same is true of the average public sector employee.

Zhou_Enlai wrote:

Sounds magic - how can we do that though?

The government can freeze gas and electricity prices. Food and clothes prices could be controlled by the National Consumer Agency if it was given the necessary power as opposed to being a handy little number for the former girlfriends of ex-taoisigh. There seems to be massive overpricing on some of these items so some form of regulation is probably in order anyway. Fuel (as in oil) is the most difficult since it is totally imported and subject to massive profiteering internationally. Maybe a reduction or suspension in tax on fuel, with inspections to ensure that the greedy supplier isn't pocketing the money instead of passing on the price reduction. Naturally there will be screams from the business sector but why should the worker suffer all the pain.

Lestat wrote:

johnfás wrote:

The average private sector employee does not have much choice as to whether they accept a wage freeze or not.

The same is true of the average public sector employee.

Zhou_Enlai wrote:

Sounds magic - how can we do that though?

The government can freeze gas and electricity prices. Food and clothes prices could be controlled by the National Consumer Agency if it was given the necessary power as opposed to being a handy little number for the former girlfriends of ex-taoisigh. There seems to be massive overpricing on some of these items so some form of regulation is probably in order anyway. Fuel (as in oil) is the most difficult since it is totally imported and subject to massive profiteering internationally. Maybe a reduction or suspension in tax on fuel, with inspections to ensure that the greedy supplier isn't pocketing the money instead of passing on the price reduction. Naturally there will be screams from the business sector but why should the worker suffer all the pain.

If the government were to freeze gas and electricity no one would or could supply them, when world prices are going through the roof, without going bankrupt pretty quickly. The only form of government intervention that might work would be massive investment in wind, wave and solar that would reduce dependency on oil and gas.

Yes, prices would have to be frozen internationally for that to work.

Production of wind and solar electricity should be a static price - FOREVER.