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THE IRISH ECONOMY is approaching a ‘tipping point’ beyond which any further increases in taxes would do more harm than good, the Irish Tax Institute has warned.
The institute says the average single-income family has already seen its take-home pay fall by €423 per month over the last four budgets – the equivalent of 16 per cent of their entire net earnings.
Families with two earners on the average income have lost €613 per month, the institute says, while earners on salaries of €55,000 have lost over €6,750 in take-home earnings since the first of four austerity budgets in October 2008.
Those drops do not include the reduced tax reliefs, and other costs that have increased, such as health insurance – and now the ITI says there is a “tipping point” at which no more money can be raised by tax hikes.
Speaking at a tax briefing, ITI president Bernard Doherty welcomed the commitment not to increase income tax in this year’s Budget – though expressing worry that the government’s plan to raise overall tax income by €1.6bn next year would “still be felt by Irish taxpayers at an individual level”.
Documents circulated to German MPs last week – and which have subsequently been published by the Department of Finance – showed that the government was planning a wholesale reform of income tax for 2013, which will likely see more people fall into the tax net.
ITI said it was “not sustainable to impose more tax increases on this same group of people or we will push them over the tipping point”.
“The only real solution for increasing taxes is to broaden the tax base through job creation. We need an ambitious tax strategy that supports Irish indigenous business, drives sales and exports and creates the major employers of the future,” Doherty said.
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We’ve been at this tipping point for long enough. Could everyone lean to the left please and tip this corrupt system over.
Very good, Réada!
It has to be bad when even the tax man is saying no more taxes.
Tipping it upside down maybe apparently we have a left and right government in power so what have they done oh the same as the last one. Yeah austerity is going to help in the short term but we have had it for three years now and where is this recovery it’s too long a period it’s time for investment in jobs, real jobs not lip service shite.
The government can heap as much tax on me as they like…..I can’t give what I don’t have. This is ridiculous…a nation that’s been financially whipped because of the utter incompetance of the few. But let’s face it…as long as we, the people bend over…the government will be there with the tub of Vaseline. We get what we vote for and seeing as the pond from which we draw upon is small and stale…well what can we expect?
What to do about a state that continues to impose an increasing tax burden while squandering money at an alarming rate and delivering increasingly poor public services.
The agorist movement in the US are advocating citizens diminish their tax footprint. In other words, attempt to starve the state of funding.
http://badquaker.com/archives/1155
Increasing tax rates during a recession is lunacy.
Increasing the burden on taxpayers while their income only results in increased unemployment. Therefore resulting in fewer taxpayers, so revenues diminish.
The government needs to make real cuts in spending to correct it’s finances.
http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecbwp849.pdf
Think we as a nation don’t do tipping points. Been enough of them over the years….
Doesn’t matter who we vote for its the troika that’s calling the shots. Even Joe Higgins as Taoiseach would be peddling the austerity line. We only have two choices, long term austerity or default. The short term misery of default may be worth in the long view
I am concerned about the impact of the water charges on household recycling once the meters go in- putting clean, dry recyclables only in the bin as requested uses water. I was out jars, plastic bottles, milk cartons, plastic tubs such as yogurt pots all of which uses water. A shampoo or washing up bottle in particular uses a lot of water to clean. Will household recycling be affordable for people once they have water meters or will they just start to throw the stuff in the bins dirty. A flat charge wouldn’t make any difference to this practice but knowing you are on a meter will certainly put people off recycling.
Maybe, if you left them out on the lawn to fill with rainwater. That way you could use the rainwater to clean them and also do your bit to help prevent flooding. Even if your garden does look like the aftermath of a rock concert. ;-)
@ Saffron
I mutter to myself as I wash out the recyclables, ‘Well, I won’t be doing this after water metering,’
Sean @ Lol… People have choices ,,
so will this be a front loaded budget AGAIN?
Oh can they not foresee the damage they will cause “HELLO” can you check in with reality!!! people should refuse to pay any extra charges..Let those who made the MESS fix it ye.didnt need us then and we dont need ye now!
And they continue to pay increments to the public service. How much of the supposed 20% cut in salaries have they recouped.
I thought that said “tax amnesty” for a moment. God bless Charlie Haughey!
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