A td on expenses can save all their salary- is this real??

N

NOAH

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I was looking at various stories on all the expenses a TD can claim tax free and by doing a quick check it is apparent that a TD can save ALL OF HIS/HER SALARY while in office so 5 years equals five years of bliss. And then we wonder why they stick together.

I do not know how much they can also offset against tax and hence save even more.

And there is no way of stopping this. So a pay reduction is in fact a reduction in savings and will not matter a jot.

I wonder how long more can it last?

Did I hear the word AUSTERITY??? Ah that's for suckers.
 
I know this is letting off steam, but any chance of a link to the story or some, you know, facts?
 
If someone incurs expenses in the course of doing their job those expenses are reimbursed. That’s standard practice in both the public and private sector. It would be unfair if expenses were not paid.
In larger organisations it is more common that flat rate expenses are paid. The fact that flat rate expenses are the norm in the public sector is a reflection of the size of the organisations, not a reflection of any abuse. This reduces the administrative cost and the chances of abuse. The civil service expenses rates are public knowledge. I don’t think they are excessive. TD’s expenses are very generous but it’s a major stretch to suggest that they can live off them.
 
here is a link that shows what they claim but I understand there are other ad hoc expenses that are not so well known. bear in mind no tax on these expenses so to get a net figure an income would be much higher. And these are unvouched.

http://www.thejournal.ie/this-is-how-much-your-td-claimed-in-expenses-in-2011-344683-Feb2012/


also it was in the mail today that a TD was paying 10, 000 a year into a pension fund and did not know they had claimed expenses of 51k last year. This was a certified accountant.

I can accept if a person incurs expenses in the course of their work they get reimbursed but with receipts. No large organisation will have a flat rate expenses culture it would be economic suicide. so put that to bed immediately.

My point is that TD's are selling an austerity package but they are totally immune from any hardship that befalls the less well off and the most galling thing is, it is our money they are grabbing. We are wasting money hand over fist on them and they dream up more creative ways to grab more and more.

noah
 
I travel frequently for work. The cost of flights for a year would easily top €10'000 (I always travel economy class). Hotels, car hire, other travel, meals etc would cost more than €5'000. Should that be counted as income? I pay for it all using a company credit card and nobody ever questions how much I spend as long and as it’s clearly work related Revenue are happy.
Public servants get a over-night flat rate. I don't think I'd cover my costs using their rates. Should their expenses be counted as income as well?


If there's a problem with abuse by TD's then that should be addressed but to talk about all expenses as if they are income is stupid.

People should have to be accountable for their expenses, especially when it’s public money. If it can be shown that they have abused expenses for personal gain they should lose their job.
Who audits TD’s expenses, that’s the question here.
Why not just publish details of all TD’s expenses? If that’s not possible then why not give them all a Dail credit card so that there is clear evidence of all expenditure?
 
The one allowance I really don't understand is why my local TD's in Dublin north get a travel allowance to go into work. I agree with Purple though.
 
The expense allowances are described very well here.


The TAA covers the costs of travel to and from Leinster House, accommodation where applicable, and constituency travel.
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The Dublin band is for TDs who live 25km or less from Leinster House and is worth €12,000 a year.
For those living between 25km and 60km from the Dail, the allowance jumps to €28,106 a year to allow for overnight stays.
The highest allowance is for those living 360km away or more and is worth €37,850 a year.

They seem absolutely reasonable to me. While employees in general do not get paid for the cost of travelling in and out of work, they do get paid for travelling on work related business. Most Dublin TDs would travel a lot in the course of their work. In and around the constituency and presumably to other parts of Dublin and Ireland. I would be surprised if €1,000 a month covered it.

People who complain about this "waste" of public expenditure, would probably prefer to have all the TDs spend a few hours each week listing out all their journeys, the purpose of their journey and whether the drove, cycled, took public transport etc. They would also like to employ 30 staff in expensive offices in Dublin to add up every receipt, check them and issue separate cheques every month.


Again, I would think a very reasonable figure. I would expect some spend a lot more.
 

Have you anything at all to back that up?

I do not know how much they can also offset against tax and hence save even more.
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This makes no sense to me? If I spend €200 on a plane ticket and €200 for a hotel room, I can claim that in expenses. Expenses are not taxed.

Nor are they "offset against tax"

It's simple. If you spend money during the course of your job, you get reimbursed. Many ( most ?) companies pay per diems for travel. The TDs get the same.
 
The TDs get the same.
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Just the same eh...

So what would revenue's reaction be to a company who decided they could give the same expense levels to their employees? For example 12000 a year tax free on top of salary for showing up to work.

Coming down like a ton of bricks, would form the main part of this reaction.

Why not exactly the same expense treatment for TDs and normal people.

Personally I believe one of the main reasons we're in the hole we're in right now is because politicians allowed themselves become completely removed from income levels of normal people. If they can allow themselves via unique expense treatment to protect themselves from complete exposure to increases in income taxation then that's as bad.

Expense their expenses - fine, or let them use the same per deim that normal companies are allowed, but no more.
 
This was yet another one of those half-baked, negative, TD bashing stories which are typical of the tabloid and quasi-tabloid media.
The answer to NOAH's story lies in the word "Expenses". In other words, the TD incurs costs (travel, overnights etc) and like any other occupation (even tabloid journalists) they get reimbursed for "espenses".
I would be utterly amazed if TDs could even break even on expenses. In many cases the local TD is expected to turn up at local events and put his hand in his pocket for drinks, raffles etc (which would not be covered as Expenses).
I never cease to be amazed how some people believe anything wtitten in some media outlets. Frankly, with some publications I wonder how they even get the date right.
 
In many cases the local TD is expected to turn up at local events and put his hand in his pocket for drinks
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I'm not sure if this really is a good argument for supporting TD expenses, playing at being a high roller, and buying votes with alcohol. That's a great use of our taxes, being handed out to acquaintances of TDs in drink.

I give up, yeah give it out in drink, expense it unvouched, different rules for TDs expenses to everyone else, great little country we have.
 
There are many TD’s that I consider not intelligent enough for the job and/or who’s policies I strongly disagree with. By international standards they are overpaid. That said I don’t buy into the notion that they are under worked and are skimming their expenses for personal gain. TD’s work very long and unsocial hours and are expected to attend every funeral and envelope opening in their constituency.
If they spend money on drinks and raffle tickets that’s more of a reflection of the electorate than the TD. It’s a very hard job. We may not like or agree with them and they may spend their time doing the wrong things in order to keep their electorate happy but let’s not ignore what’s involved.
 
Yes I read the article.

Did you not read my post ..... I said 'according to' (the article was titled 'TD 'can't get by on €92k salary' claim')
 
You gave it credence by linking to it and repeating the incorrect material included in it.

What you should have done was "some loony lefty has claimed without any corroboration that a TD said she couldn't get by on a €92k salary" and then linked to it.
 
The article is short, so here it is in full


This is a non-story.
 
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