# My vote goes to the party which will abolish the Employment and Youth Levies



## ajapale (20 Apr 2007)

My vote goes to the party which will abolish the Employment and Youth Levies. In fact Id like to see PRSI rates reduced to zero but I guess the levies would be a start.

Does anyone have any thoughts on why these anachonistic levies are still in existence? Do they yield much?

see here for more on these levies.



> The Health and The Employment & Training Levies - TSG98/11  *Introduction*
> 1. The Health and the Employment & Training Levies were introduced respectively through the Health Contributions Act, 1979 and the Youth Employment Agency Act, 1981. Changes in the levies, which cannot be done in the Finance Bill, have normally been enacted through the annual Social Welfare Act. The Health contribution is currently charged at 1.25% and the Employment & Training levy at 1% on an individual's total income from all sources, with only a few exceptions, e.g. social welfare payments, BIK, the *total* income of Medical Card holders and of recipients of the social welfare Survivor's and Widow's Pensions, Lone Parent's allowance and Deserted Wives' Benefit/Allowance.
> 2. The 1994 Budget introduced for both the Health and the Employment & Training levies a low income exemption threshold of £9,000 a year for the self-employed and £173 per week (weekly non-cumulative) for employees. These thresholds were increased in each subsequent Budget - by £500 in both 1997 and 1998 - and currently stand at £10,750 pa or £207 per week. The annual cost of the existing exemption threshold is estimated at around £69 m. *The revenue yield in 1998 from both levies combined (2.25%) is estimated at around £454m.*
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