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THE UNITED STATES Senate has approved a deal which hopes to avert the so-called ‘Fiscal Cliff’ – a series of tax increases and spending cuts – which could help to stop the country from falling back into recession.
The White House and Senate Republicans worked through the night to agree the deal which was eventually approved on the Senate floor by 89 votes to 8.
However, the new measures cannot take effect immediately – because the House of Representatives did not hang around until after midnight to consider a vote on the plans.
The House is due to reconvene later today to vote on the proposals, in one of its final acts: the term of office of its current members ends tomorrow night, with a new House – featuring dozens of new members – convening on Thursday.
The deal will see an extension on tax cuts for people earning under $400,000 (€302,000) per year, in a renewal of measures first introduced by George W Bush.
The measures approved by the Senate also included an increase in inheritance taxes on large estates, an increase in capital taxes, and a short-term extension of unemployment benefits.
The more contentious aspects of the ‘Fiscal Cliff’, however – an automatic, across-the-board cut of about 9 per cent in government spending – have simply been deferred, offering Democrats and Republicans an extra two months to find alternative ways of saving the money.
The fact that the vote came hours after the December 31 deadline is largely irrelevant, as few of the new measures will take effect today, due to January 1 being a public holiday in the United States.
If the measures had been allowed to take effect, however, the massive spending cuts and the dramatic dent in US household spending would have almost certainly dragged the country back into a recession – and possibly take the rest of the world down with it.
President Obama welcomed the Senate agreement, saying it illustrated a good compromise.
“While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay,” Obama said in a statement after the vote.
“There’s more work to do to reduce our deficits, and I’m willing to do it.”
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They really broke their heart with a 1 cent drop per minute.
Sorry, I don’t understand this article. What’s a holiday?
Croatia joins the EU on Monday too, this money making scheme will be gone totally by next year. It’s great news for the consumer and puts a ceiling on networks fleecing us.
So it’s going to cost me less to make a phone call when I’m abroad than when I’m at home in Ireland? I’m paying 35c per call and 15c per text!!? Surely this isn’t right?
Sounds like your being ripped off there!
Yeah that’s true, but the networks also do not apply free-with-topup promotions while roaming.
That’s the reason domestic prices are as high as they are: the networks compete on the promotions, not the base prices.
This won’t apply to me because my woman will still spend a fortune… ‘roaming’ around the shops on a Saturday.
Who in their right mind uses data downloading while roaming? Have they not heard of free WiFi? Whatsapp?
Local SIM card?
That’s all very well, Alan, if you happen to be in a wifi zone. But this isn’t just about holiday makers checking their Facebook page or sending What’s App messages. There are also big implications for companies whose staff travel regularly abroad to conduct business. This can be a huge expense, so the moves to eliminate roaming costs can only be a good thing for the economy too.
I’ve been known to knock it on when I lose my bearings walking around.
The rates for Data are still pretty scandalous.
I do and quite a lot.. In the uk, I’m a 3 customer… But we set up wifi zones using our phones when presenting to clients… You can’t trust that they will have a guest network or that it stops emails and stuff… I would love three ‘like home’ feature was available all over Europe… Great in countries that have them… Agreed to go to Italy on holidays because it has it over Spain…
Still too high!
So it’s now cheaper to ring Scandinavia than to use my ATM card.
They’re not the same thing. What’s your point?
Are these VAT-exclusive prices the same across the EU? On arriving in Denmark a few days ago, my Finnish operator texted me to say calls were 36c/min., incoming calls 10c/min. and text messages 11c. VAT in Finland is 24%.
The tariff is charged by your domestic network (Vodafone, O2, Three or Meteor) so it’s subject to VAT at Irish levels. But yes, when the VAT is excluded, the prices should be the same across the EU.
As of right now, the limits are 70c per MB of data, 29c to make calls, 8c to receive calls, and 9c to send texts. If you add on the 23% Irish VAT, you’d get the prices you were quoted.
From Monday, exclusive VAT, these would fall to 45c per MB, 24c to make a call, 7c to receive it, and 8c for a text. Adding in the VAT this becomes 55c per MB, 29.5c to make a call, 8.6c to receive it, and 9.8c for a text.
On arriving in France a few days ago my ‘welcome message’ told me that calls would be 79c/min to make and receive – where did the 29c/min figure come from?
Eh, the law. Who’s your domestic provider?
Vodafone
Welcome to France from Vodafone Ireland! You ‘re signed up to Vodafone Passport for Calls and getting great value. If you want to use the internet on your phone, text DATA to 50020 and save even more. Here ‘s how the costs work. Calls to home or within France: your usual out of bundle rate + 79c, to receive calls: 79c. BlackBerry or mobile internet (without Passport): 86c per MB, with opting in to PASSPORT MOBILE INTERNET: 2 per day for 50MB. Texts: free to receive and 11c to send. Promotion and inclusive minutes can’t be used while roaming. Our T&C ‘s are on Vodafone.ie and for Emergency Services dial 112. If you have any questions or would like prepay Top Up please call our FREE Roaming Care number +35312038232
Hardly big news. You’d swear they were abolishing it.
mattoid, that’s not 79c per minute
You’ve signed up for a tariff by which you pay a fixed 79c connection fee to make a call before paying at your normal rates (the rate you’d have at home if you used up all of your minutes)
Similarly, you pay a 79c connection fee when receiving a call, and then nothing.
This is a good deal if you plan to make long calls while abroad. If you’re making calls of less than 3 minutes, and receiving calls of less than 8 minutes, this is costing you more than if you opted out of Vodafone passport
Guys don’t know where you are getting your figures from but 3 have different ideas on present charges
From Three: EU to EU: It’s 35.67c p/m to make calls; 9.84c p/m to receive; 11.07c to send SMS, 50.82c for MMS & max 86.10c/MB to use web. Free info +353833333330. Emergency No 112. Rates apply unless opted into other preferential roaming rates.
Good news for everyone working in the EU too, with their Irish phone on all the time so your Mammy can ring/text you :-) Now we can answer it instead of always saying “she’ll kill me but I can’t answer it, costs a fortune” running around looking for your other phone/ house phone/ someone else’s phone to ring back :-)
Why roam when u can get a local simcard? Tourist sims are v cheap.
I agree for a long time away (over a week), but if you’re only away a few days then buying and topping up a sim isn’t worth it.
Any one know if thats a set rate im currently getting charged 34c for outgoing and 12c for incoming +vat in the uk off 3 ireland
So, from an unofficial, but effective rip off cartel pricing structure, we move to a marginally less, but now officially sanctioned rip off cartel emulating system.
I wonder if there’ll be some nice little career or semi-retirement upgrades for some people who may, or may not, have had anything to do with this ‘deal’ ?
‘Free Markets Ideology’ ? Competition ? The hypocrisy just drips off them.
That’s very unfair. Neelies Kroes has worked tirelessly on this issue for years. I’ve watched her progress in battling against the roaming charges for years.
The only reason the prices are fixed is because she keeps bringing them down. No-one is going to offer below the max for roaming because it’s always been a cashcow, and it’s harder to regulate when you’re technically not fixing with your competitors, just charging the max you can get away with.
Don’t forget Viviane Reding. She introduced the whole idea of regulation.
The whole reason they brought in regulation was precisely because competition was not working. And it was particularly difficult to stimulate competition, because of the nature of roaming (a network cannot reduce prices below what the roaming network will offer them at).
It was hugely disadvantageous to smaller networks with their limited negotiating position, while larger networks (Vodafone, Orange, Telefónica etc.) were making a killing.
You can even see it in the reactions to the initial introduction to the price limits. Vodafone and O2 Ireland both denounced it, while Meteor welcomed it.
Hopefully this will happen for across the Atlantic too.
Was in Canada for a week recently and my costs ran to €340.
Had rang provider before I left to enquire about costs and, apart from him being the rudest and most obnoxious man I ever spoke to in any company, he gave the impression he was delighted that I would be paying €4.99 per megabyte.
local sim is the only way to go in North America… or get a prepaid mifi device and use that (which is what I do for my non US phones in the US and my non UK phones in the UK and my non IE phones in IE #havetogowheretheworkis #theivingmobileoperators)
I have just rang 3 ie call centre and when I asked why am I being charged 36 c a minute for call I was told that is the EU rate am I the only one getting riped off , im in the uk on a irish phone
Do you not have 3 Like Home Set Up? I have it on 3 Ireland and get completely free roaming in the UK, Italy and Austria. Ring them and ask. My free texts still even work in those countries
Thanks
what? Meteor are free to receive calls in the eu once you opt in. Thought everyone had wised up to the fleecing ages ago
What are their data charges like? I’m off contract now and looking for cheap data roaming, something that matches Vodafone Passport (€2 per day for 50mb)
Roam like home on meteor in the eu with calls charged at normal payg prices or outside minutes bill pay prices. Calls are free to receive. Data charged at eu mandated rates. Data charges are pretty shocking in all honestly, costs a fraction of a cent to provide but its keeping the operators in business with average revenue per user down quarter on quarter. This ‘cash cow’ keeps the networks viable and at the technological forefront. It costs hundreds of millions to introduce and maintain new services such as lte. In such a competitive market margins keep getting leaner, expect to see the number of companies providing mobile services shrink as we are at over saturation in the market. Hence telefonica trying to pull out of the ireland. So in fairness, in such a small market, we do pretty well when it comes to pricing overall.
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