The basic weekly social welfare payment was reduced in Budget 2010.
I would imagine the basic social welfare payment is next on the list . It's the only thing left that hasn't been cut yet.
If RTE cut the enormous salaries they are paying their employees then they too could survive on a shoestring budget like tv3 and tg4. Better still why don't the Government sell it off to a private company.Combining the two in to one is a logical step. Like it or not.
As regards RTE I remember an old media lecturer in college whom also worked in RTE stating that the amount of dead wood and waste in the organisation was amazing. Also the sums needed to consistently produce programs of quality were far in excess of what RTE could ever hope to raise. This is why the vast bulk of their programming are radio shows that are filmed. We just don't have to pool of viewers to fund such an organisation.
No change for those already paying you say. You can be sure when they incorporate it with a property tax the two will increase in price. In a few years will will be funding a higher % of the wages of RTE fat catsIt's only worrying for those who intend no paying their taxes.
Bear in mind that this tax change nothing for those 85% who have been paying their tv license.
I don't see any issue there.
They have that database already. Its called the Land Registry.
It's obviously a lot easier for the State to compel or incentivise people to enter their own personal and property data onto a centralised database than to attempt to extract this data from another source. That said, Land Registry records are in the public domain and it is a fact that Revenue routinely consult them in audit cases. That's why I am a bit bemused by the idea that the household charge procedure is a new erosion of privacy.
It's obviously a lot easier for the State to compel or incentivise people to enter their own personal and property data onto a centralised database than to attempt to extract this data from another source.
It is the prerogative of a state to levy taxes. What these taxes are called - TV licence, broadcast charge, income levy -, how they are charged and collected and the justification for them is up to the state to define.
In a representative democracy, which we still are, the elected government makes these decisions and if the electorate is unhappy with the decisions taken in their name, then they can vote them out at the next election. The fear of being voted out is generally sufficent to keep the elected government from taking decisions which are un-explained or too unpopular.
Of course we are in a somewhat difficult position as the previous government allowed the economy to crash spectularly and as a consequence we have lost control, temporarily I hope, over our finances - however it is still the case that the government can raise whatever taxes and charges it likes.
So the fuss over the TV license or broadcasting charge is a red herring IMHO
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