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'A rigged global tax system': Oxfam says Ireland is a tax haven by EU standards

The new report by Oxfam argues that Ireland fails to meet the criterion on fair taxation.

IRELAND IS ONE of four EU states that would end up blacklisted as a tax haven if the EU applies its own criteria member states, Oxfam has said.

The EU is expected to publish its first tax haven blacklist at its Ecofin meeting on 5 December.

Based on conservative estimates, Oxfam’s report – Blacklist or Whitewash – recommends that the blacklist should include 35 countries, including United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong.

It says that the EU list aims to look solely at countries outside the EU.

However, it argues that this harms the credibility of the process, as EU member states such as Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands are “some of the most powerful tax havens in the world, enabling some of the biggest corporations in the world to pay minimal tax”.

Irish tax evasion

The report reviewed the 92 countries included on the EU list as well as the 28 EU member states.

It argues that Ireland fails to meet the criterion of fair taxation. Luxembourg Malta and the Netherlands also failed to meet the criteria.

It noted that citizens have witnessed the role of several EU states, including Ireland, in multinationals’ tax avoidance schemes, such as the recent Apple and Amazon tax scandals.

Examining how Ireland fails to meet the criteria, the report says that royalties sent out of Ireland in 2015 represented more than 26% of the country’s gross domestic product.

This is more royalties than are sent out of the rest of the EU combined, and makes Ireland the world’s number one royalties provider.

This report isn’t the first time that Oxfam has claimed Ireland is a tax haven.

It released a report in 2016, Tax Battles, which exposed the world’s most aggressive corporate tax havens. It included Ireland on a list of 15 countries.

The report concludes that it is time for the EU to take action to “hold multinationals and problematic tax jurisdictions – including some EU member states – to account, to stop resources being diverted from developing countries”.

“Tax havens are the result of a rigged global tax system. They are playing a leading role in the global corporate tax race-to-the-bottom. This must change if we want to finance development and fight inequality around the globe,” the report said.

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    Mute John Hagin Meade
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:18 AM

    When Ireland was asked to vote a second time on the Lisbon treaty it was offered tax autonomy if Lisbon was passed. We passed the treaty so therefore we can adopt any tax regime that we want without interference. If the EU try to introduce tax harmonization across member states then the Lisbon treaty result would be rendered invalid. They can’t have it both ways in my opinion.

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    Mute Ó Connmhaigh
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:47 AM

    @John Hagin Meade: add to that a guarantee that Ireland’s neutrality – written in the Constitution – would not be compromised in the unlikely event of of there being an EU army. Another red line that is being crossed. EU finance commissioner Pierre Moscivici has crossed the red line on tax harmony and Claude Junker on the army. The Irish were promised a pack of lies and any written guarantees from Brussels are not worth the paper they’re written on.

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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:08 AM

    @John Hagin Meade: The Lisbon treaty should be invalid, we voted against it.

    It’s funny how if FFG won an election before Christmas, they wouldn’t go back to the electorate and say “Ah lads, wrong choice, let’s try again”

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    Mute John Hagin Meade
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:15 AM

    @Ó Connmhaigh: You make a good point. Perhaps it’s time we considered leaving this disingenuous EU. In 1972 I voted NO to joining and I have never changed my opinion. We may have been given EU funds over the years but the price we are paying now and will be forced to pay in the future is unacceptable.

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    Mute T Beckett is back
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:26 AM

    @John Hagin Meade:

    Oxfam, a British charity, has no problem with London City or British overseas territory the Cayman Islands – literally a tax haven.

    Not their business how Ireland gets its tax.

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    Mute Joe Bloggs
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    Nov 28th 2017, 11:10 AM

    @Ó Connmhaigh: neutrality is not written into the constitution.

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    Mute Ó Connmhaigh
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    Nov 28th 2017, 11:17 AM

    @Joe Bloggs:
    Article 29, section 4 of the Constitution:
    “The State shall not adopt a decision taken by the European Council to establish a common defence…of the Treaty on European Union where that common defence would include the State.”

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    Mute Michael Reilly
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    Nov 28th 2017, 12:16 PM

    @T Beckett is back: I take it Oxfan are a registered charity for the purpose of paying NO TAX.

    24
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    Mute Mary Cahill
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    Nov 28th 2017, 1:25 PM

    @John Hagin Meade:
    This has nothing to do with tax harmonisation. Oxfam is not complaining about our ludicrously low rate of corporation tax.It is about assisting the wealthy avoid paying their due tax.

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    Mute Daniel Donovan
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    Nov 28th 2017, 7:25 PM

    @Ó Connmhaigh: The European Union Militarising is a big step for the bearocrats in their hatred for Putin and Russia and efforts to Globalise.

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:08 AM

    The problem Ireland faces is that if our tax rates and polices were not so attractive then the likelihood is that we would lose many thousands of jobs. We need to decide if we want to take the moral high ground and damage ourselves in the process

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    Mute Ro Brett
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:12 AM

    @Nick Allen: No they wouldn’t, they still need EU headquarters to trade within the EU, They’re pretty unlikely to actually leave.

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    Mute B9xiRspG
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:16 AM

    @Ro Brett: Ro if didn’t stop Dell from moving to Poland from limerick. These companies are only concerned about their bottom line, a half percent here and there could be worth millions and even billions

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    Mute Ro Brett
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:20 AM

    @B9xiRspG: Yes, and it didn’t stop HP from leaving either. These are MNC’s, they will adjust their global strategy with or without the tax breaks.

    33
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    Mute Windy Atlantic Way
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:22 AM

    @Nick Allen: it is only attractive for the big multinational companies or those who want to come here for social welfare, any individual that would come here to work wouldn’t be long getting an eye opener when they start paying taxes ,levies & the list goes on.

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    Mute Andy K
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:27 AM

    @Nick Allen: Low taxes are really only attractive when paired with low wages. Ireland does not have low wages.

    But for most companies a highly educated workforce is the highest requirement for choosing where to build. Ireland has stacked up incredibly well in the past 2 decades or so against its rivals. But with education taking a nose dive over the last few years (such as no more free education) we will see a drop in interest and investment. Add the skyrocketing cost of living we are looking at hard times ahead just at the time where we could have attracted many EU hq’s from the UK over brexit.

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    Mute Ro Brett
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:38 AM

    @Andy K: Ireland has super low wages! The median salary is 32k! I’m not sure you’ve ever seen American wages for the IT industry but you can triple that for a start.

    39
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    Mute Charles Williams
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:40 AM

    @Nick Allen: It’s so typical Irish, everything depends on the fix,the backhander or the bribe, nothing can be honest,transparent or up front. Someone working for Apple In Ireland earning 50k to 60k pays taxes at over 50% while Apple earning billions pay next to nothing between the “double Irish”,the shelf company, the non movement of monies to through tax havens.

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:42 AM

    @Andy K:

    The link between low tax and wages is true if sales are as a result of the high cost of the employee base. Apple routes its sales via Ireland and as such the impact of high wages is negligible in relation to the monies saved on corporation tax. Also, there is no nose dive in producing educated graduates as a result of university fees. The number of graduates Ireland produces is increasing year on year. The impact of fees is on accessibility to 3rd level education and not on the quantity of output.

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    Mute Paul Fahey
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:48 AM

    @Andy K: this highly educated workforce is another narrative to cover the fact we are a tax haven in many ways, factually we are very much in the middle of EU education rankings and the lack of investment means it is only going to get worse. Many EU countries not only attain higher education standards, but they also multi-lingual. It is also interesting to note the amount of our workforce who were educated outside of the state. Most multi-nationals are here for tax reasons, which is illustrated by the fact the IDA use it as their main selling point.

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:00 AM

    @Paul Fahey:

    I agree, I think the ‘highly educated’ workforce of these multinationals are the first to admit that their employers are not in Ireland because of the talent available.

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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:07 AM

    @B9xiRspG: Those were manufacturing jobs.

    The jobs we bring to Ireland today are largely as a result of our knowledge based economy, not because of how well we can put a computer together for 2 euro an hour.

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Nov 28th 2017, 11:38 AM

    @Ro Brett:

    You are comparing the average salary with the average IT salary. Bit like comparing Apples and Oranges. IT salaries in Ireland are high. Average salary in Google Ireland is 115k a year

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    Mute Fifty Shades of Sé
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:08 AM

    Taxes are for the little people. We don’t need the money as much as Apple do.

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    Mute munsterman
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:24 AM

    @Fifty Shades of Sé: the people here seem to love the way things are done. They keep voting in the same party’s

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:30 AM

    @Fifty Shades of Sé:
    We don’t need the money but we need the jobs. Far more than the likes of Germany and France need them.

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    Mute Hatchjaw
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:34 AM

    @munsterman: And what choice do we have, none! Irish politics are so bland.

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    Mute Michael Geraghty
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:34 AM

    @munsterman: I’ve a pretty good life. Don’t blame your failings on a political party.

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    Mute John003
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:35 AM

    @Avina Laaf: France has 24% youth unemployment….They have had much higher unemployment than us for years…..

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    Mute munsterman
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:18 AM

    @Michael Geraghty: you obviously dont understand simple English Michael. I was giving out about the way things are done here not how great some people have it..

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    Mute Michael Geraghty
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:53 AM

    @munsterman: it’s one of the same. The low tax rate is creating jobs. It’s very simple

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    Mute munsterman
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    Nov 28th 2017, 11:00 AM

    @Michael Geraghty: low tax rate haha. Tax haven Michael. Take your head out of the clouds

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Nov 30th 2017, 8:56 AM
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    Mute Colin Morris
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:17 AM

    The Netherlands and Luxembourg are equally guilty of this.

    It is ONLY Ireland who maintains a 3rd world housing crisis, hhealth care system and public transport infrastructure.

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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:10 AM

    @Colin Morris: that takes true talent.

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    Mute John Newman
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:39 AM

    @Colin Morris: We have a laziness crisis. To easy to sit at home and collect the scratcher

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    Mute Ian Walsh
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    Nov 28th 2017, 2:00 PM

    @John Newman: What evidence do you have of that spurious claim?

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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:21 AM

    Says the business that is tax exempt and pays its management top dollars. Gwan away out of it there like a good lad.

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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:12 AM

    @Ronan Sexton: they’re not a business, they’re a non-profit.

    They do these studies so that they can inform policy makers, and voters, better.

    Let me guess – you think the minimum wage, pensions, and the 40 hour work week came about because of benevolent factory owners? Or because left wing groups pressured them to that point?

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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:44 AM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: They are a business, they generate revenue and pay their management top cash. Cleared that up there for you.

    25
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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:15 AM

    Ireland is a centre for global tax avoidance. It is a big services industry. We are not transparent and we do “special deals”.

    53
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    Mute Rear Admiral
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    Nov 28th 2017, 2:49 PM

    @Fiona deFreyne: nothing wrong with special deals that, as long as WE benefit from those. But the feckin eejits didn’t bother to close the loopholes on the other side and allowed the conglomerates to further reduce their taxes by out to Bermuda.

    Just imagine we had have gotten the actual 12.5% we were supposed to get instead of the 0.03 or whatever it was the double Irish allowed, we’d be on the pigs back.

    Nothing is ever thought through here to the end, its always half-arsed!!

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    Mute techman
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:33 AM

    And the CEO of Oxfam is paid how much? And the people who contribute money to prevent famine in Africa really want it to be spent on this kind of political propaganda. Am I missing something?

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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:49 AM

    @techman: You are missing nothing, spot on. I have no problem with Oxfam being a business, but it is tax exempt under their charitable status. This I do have problem with, while they are pointing the finger at other businesses taking advantage of tax laws the same as they are.

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    Mute Arthur Pewty
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:16 AM

    A report on which country isn’t a tax haven would have been more shocking.

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    Mute Grumpy Bollovks
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:20 AM

    Welcome to planet earth Oxfam

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    Mute Stephen murphy
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:52 AM

    Meanwhile, politicians come up with new ways to make up the shortfall in taxes and we keep voting for them.

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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:13 AM

    @Stephen murphy: a few more flat taxes like the property tax and we’ll be a libertarians dream society soon enough.

    Crap healthcare for the masses, yachts for the rich.

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    Mute John Hagin Meade
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:40 AM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: You’re right. Only this morning I heard on RTE radio that the government are considering giving the collecting of the TV licence to Revenue and linking it’s price to the rising cost of living. This would then become yet another tax…the TV TAX.

    24
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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:36 AM

    “You can sing it …” Ireland fails to meet the criterion on fair taxation. TDs devoid of understanding the basics of the Canons of Taxation.

    - 2-Tier Motor Tax … €280 for a new Merc, €580 for a 10 yr old Avensis
    - 2- Tier LPT … owner families pay tax on their homes but not families in social homes.
    - 2-Tier pensions … private pensioners get top-up welfare pensions plus their dependents
    - 2-Tier Health tax .. Public taxes plus private health insurance .. for normal healthcare

    2-Tier taxes, Regressive Taxes and Taxes on “Life Essentials” … a basket case.

    Ireland is a failed society .. fail to bring their brains to the Polling booths.

    https://www.change.org/p/unfair-car-tax-law
    https://www.change.org/p/irish-healthcare-should-be-based-on-medical-need-not-on-how-much-money-you-have

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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    Nov 28th 2017, 10:52 AM

    @Neuville-Kepler62F: Why shouldn’t private pensioners receive state pensions on top of a fund they paid into all their working lives? Should state pensions only be reserved for people that contribute nothing all their lives into either fund?

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Nov 28th 2017, 11:41 AM

    @Ronan Sexton: PRSI is an insurance system for loss of job or failed private pension not an assurance scheme. You dont get your house insurance back unless your house burns down and you need it. .. Top-up (2 extra) welfare pensions for well off private pensioners is a daft Irish 2-Tier scam.

    Taxpayers should not have to fund this well-off top-up welfare pension scam, whose wives who never worked get an additional “dependent” €10K welfare pension also. There is no PRSI pension fund! The whole thing is daft!

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    Mute Willy Malone
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:06 AM

    No way ☺

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    Mute ed w
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    Nov 28th 2017, 11:46 AM

    Hmm would take anything oxfam say with a pinch of salt how much of there donations actually goes to helping anyone.

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    Mute Shane Murphy
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    Nov 28th 2017, 9:13 AM

    Doesn’t feel like it,

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    Mute John Fergus
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    Nov 28th 2017, 12:51 PM

    It might sound callous but don’t hate the player hate the game. It’s EU laws and regulations that enabled this legal tax evasion in the first place. Hell the president of the EU when he was prime minister in Luxembourg presided over some of the greatest tax evasion by corporations there in their history.
    Like everything else in Ireland, the right officials are bought and paid for. It’s like the Fianna fail Galway races tent on steroids.
    I am not saying its right but it’s just the way things are.

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    Mute Rear Admiral
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    Nov 28th 2017, 3:03 PM

    Oxfam want more money so they can throw it into the bottomless money pit Africa

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    Mute William Grogan
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    Nov 28th 2017, 5:52 PM

    Oxfam has become a hard left joke.

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    Mute Towger
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    Nov 28th 2017, 2:52 PM

    I am sure IBM also enjoys our tax system. Would Peter O’Neill like to comment with both this Oxfam and IBM hats on?

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    Mute Gerald Kelleher
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    Nov 28th 2017, 5:02 PM

    Oxfam support a rigged system which tries to bump up the success of short term weather modelling to climate while reducing the Earth’s atmosphere to the conditions found in a common greenhouse and then call the whole scheme ‘climate change/global warming’.

    Unlike the tax havens and the cleverness of corporations, ‘climate change’ relies on the laziness of the wider population who seemingly like the rigged system.

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