Logical Budget Suggestions

[ontour]

All airports ! There should be investment to improve access all around the country. I don't discriminate against the rural folk. They may not know what traffic is but they do have other challenges.

Most people buy wine one or two bottles at a time. I don't think that it is very price sensitive and a euro on a bottle would not greatly impact sales.

Where is are these restaurants called Sainsbury's that you refer to and what is their wine list like?

 

[Mpsox]

Cut the bonues announced last week to the HSE directors/senior managers

Abolish the Senate or if we're going to keep it, at least give it the powers to make it meaninful

Introduce a 3rd higher tax band for salaries/income of say €250kpa+ (and I just pulled that figure out of thin air, it could be set lower/higher).

Stick a € on the price of fags, who cares if the smokers don't like it, it might encourage them to give up

Tax TV3 an additional rate for every freak/reality/foreign soap show they broadcast

 

[Purple]

Spot the person with either no kids or grown up kids

I have three small kids and I agree that it should be means tested.

 

[Purple]

We've been through this one before - rural drivers with no realistic public transport options would be screwed in order to benefit their city cousins, with the lions share of public transport infrastructure.

By the same logic stamp duty should be lower in urban areas.

 

[ubiquitous]

I have three small kids and I agree that it should be means tested.

I am a parent myself and would not be too bothered either if it was scrapped. I honestly think that scrapping child benefit altogether would be a better idea than means testing it, if parents' welfare allowances were adjusted accordingly to compensate.

Means testing can generate incredible bureaucracy and bizarre results, as evidenced by the farce of the third level grant schemes, where most people on average incomes fail to qualify, yet a minority of tycoons, who happen for some reason to have low incomes, can qualify.

 

[Purple]

Whatever they do it'll have to be pretty major.
Stuff like 10c on a packet of fags probably won't help too much.

Maybe something drastic like
1. Nationalise and combine all the Irish banks
2. Irish citizens have to use the new super bank
3. All existing taxes are abolished
4. New tax taken directly from bank accounts.

This will mean 100% tax compliance and we can also get rid of bunches of public sector employees, and the revenue.

What about the IFSC and all of the foreign banks operating here? What will happen to all the money we make from stealing taxes from other countries?

I agree about a tax hike on the fags. €2 a pack would be a good idea and take them out of the CPI so it doesn’t hit inflation figures.

 

[z103]

What about the IFSC and all of the foreign banks operating here? What will happen to all the money we make from stealing taxes from other countries?

There's no future in it, we shouldn't be relying on leaching.
There's too much risk of these foreign companies leaving when their home countries tighten the rules, or they find a better deal elsewhere.

We should be creating our own indigenous enterprise. Encourage people to invest in Irish companies (rather than property)

 

[Purple]

There's no future in it, we shouldn't be relying on leaching.

It’s worked just fine for the Swiss for over a hundred years and they leach blood money as well.

There's too much risk of these foreign companies leaving when their home countries tighten the rules, or they find a better deal elsewhere.

Where does Glenn Dimplex manufacture it’s goods? What about Smurfit? Or how about CRH?
If Irish companies want to be world players they have to compete in an international market. That means going where they will get the best return on investment.

We should be creating our own indigenous enterprise. Encourage people to invest in Irish companies (rather than property)

I am involved in an indigenous Irish manufacturing company so don't think I don't like the idea of people investing in Irish companies but we are the most exposed economy in Europe (and possible the world) to trade. We cannot function in isolation. When the USA, the country with the biggest internal market in the world, tried this last it caused the great depression. Therefore we need capital flows into and out of the country.

As long as there is good governance in the host country capitalism is a blessing which enriches the poor. If there is not good governance it can enslave them. Socialist protectionism ensures that the poor stay poor and the rich stay rich. I am talking about the truly poor; the not the disadvantaged in Ireland and the Western World. If protectionist policies had been adopted in the USA in the 1980’s we would never have had our 15-20 years in the sun. Now it’s someone else’s turn, look at how countries like Korea have been transformed over the last 20 years, how can we complain?

 

[Henny Penny]

Any government who means tests children's allowance would not find themselves in power for very long IMHO. If you're talking about means testing this then why not means test the state Old Age Pension?

 

[Purple]

I am a parent myself and would not be too bothered either if it was scrapped. I honestly think that scrapping child benefit altogether would be a better idea than means testing it, if parents' welfare allowances were adjusted accordingly to compensate.

Yep, that's a better idea.

Any government who means tests children's allowance would not find themselves in power for very long IMHO. If you're talking about means testing this then why not means test the state Old Age Pension?

Pensions are taxed; why not tax children’s allowance?

 

[Pique318]

I agree about a tax hike on the fags. €2 a pack would be a good idea and take them out of the CPI so it doesn’t hit inflation figures.

Nice slight of hand
Sure take Oil & Mortgage payments out too and inflation will be nice and 'contained'