The Reform Alliance's economic policies

[Brendan Burgess]

I think it would be very useful to have a party challenging the left wing consensus. But I am worried that the Reform Alliance is not it.

It's very hard to figure out where they stand, but I have pieced bits of it together.

From the RebootIreland [broken link removed]

Building An Economy for Entrepreneurs Across The Social, Private and Public Sectors
Building a new economy that supports entrepreneurs, employees and consumers of small businesses.

That sounds good but is a bit too vague


From an interview in

Lucinda promises her new party will scrap the USC

That is just pure populism. The USC is often the only tax which lower and middle earners pay. It is also a tax which high earners find very difficult to avoid.


The

Reforming the Economy
All retirement lump sums should be taxed at the recipients marginal rate of tax (they have a greater ability to pay than any other taxpayer. A bar should be placed on all ex TD’s from entering the Senate.

The ‘poverty trap’ (in some ‘poverty golden handcuffs’) has got to be addressed urgently, to make paid employment more attractive, than the state sponsored destructive lifestyle on the Dole.

Tax system needs reform. It’s penal to be on a higher tax earning a paltry 32K.

Introduce free legal aid for families who face eviction from their homes due to serious illness or redundancy.

Abolish the high rate of motor tax and set it at a reasonable rate. Make motor tax progressive not regressive.

How about converting some unused hotels into hostels for the homeless and less well off in society?

Bring tax bands for 2 income and 1 income couples closer together.

Equalise PAYE tax credits and home cover tax credits – presently PAYE is double home cover

Allow tax credits and/or tax band increases for children of married couples as in other countries and for single parents.

Make a certain proportion of child care costs tax deductible and allow this to be means tested so that those who earn the least get the most benefit.

No profiteering from land deals for housing

3rd level of tax for those earning €100k

Hefty fines for accountants and their clients providing false information on accounts so as to gain grants etc

Big promotion to use Irish products in catering and sell Irish products in shops

Working should pay better than social welfare ie social welfare should not be better that payment for working

A very mixed bag there - it's not very free market to be encouraging the use of Irish products in catering. What would happen if our export clients adopted the same policy?

A 3rd level of tax for those earning over €100k. They should realise that we need the lower and middle earners to pay taxes comparable to the EU averages and not to raise the burden on higher earners even further.

Hobbs: New party aims to keep public-sector pay in check

Eddie Hobbs says his new party has left-wing targets - using right-wing economics.

...

The founders claim they want a minimum standard of living for everyone in Ireland, while also supporting entrepreneurs.

But Hobbs is also very clear about keeping civil service wages in check.

"Public sector remuneration would not increase, unless the minimum lifestyle standard increased first," he said.

"That would be the primary objective of Government - I can't be any clearer than that.

"So, in other words, we have a left-wing target, if you want to put it in the old vernacular, using, you could argue, right-wing economics, which is the idea of minimising the cost to the State, making it highly efficient, to get the maximum pass-through from taxpayers for those most in need."

 

[Purple]

It all sounds a bit half-baked and the sort of list that would be trotted out on the back of a beer mat. Very disappointing really.

 

[TTI]

It all sounds a bit half-baked and the sort of list that would be trotted out on the back of a beer mat. Very disappointing really.

Agreed! So the solution to our deficit and public debt is to tax less? Wonderful.

 

[Purple]

Agreed! So the solution to our deficit and public debt is to tax less? Wonderful.

Yes, I would have hoped that they would suggest that we tax the same amount (but spread more equitably so that low and middle earners pay their fair share) and waste less.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Fintan O'Toole described Eddie's policies as follows. I think he has compiled them from comments made over the years and not just recent publications:

Eddie has, to be fair, a perfectly coherent Hobbsian programme for radical right-wing “reform”: slashing taxes, cutting public sector pay and numbers, reducing welfare benefits, closing subsidised services in rural Ireland, telling farmers to live or die by the market.

That seems a pretty good start to me.