Interesting Report Donegal And The Household Tax

danniemcq

munchkin_utd wrote: »

the Daily Mail is well known for liberally twisting the facts to suit their agenda/ need to sell newspapers.

If the 175million went into central funds it would make only a tiny dint on day to day things like social welfare which is 110times that figure or the health system which is about 80times that figure.

The money the government is spending on day to day stuff is mindblowing and taxes arent remotely high enough to cover that expenditure, let alone anything related to banks that just adds to (not creates) the problem.

to your first point i will also say that politicans are guilty of this too. Its a rag of a paper though i do agree

And your other points don't relate to the household tax. The household tax we were told would be for local use, roads, lights, libraries etc to help the community. It is not for Welfare payments, not bank bailouts and not day to day government expenses.

This headline is the exact reason non payers have been asking for clarity and a process or way to actually see what you put in is being pumped back to your area.

munchkin_utd

danniemcq wrote: »

to your first point i will also say that politicans are guilty of this too. Its a rag of a paper though i do agree

And your other points don't relate to the household tax. The household tax we were told would be for local use, roads, lights, libraries etc to help the community. It is not for Welfare payments, not bank bailouts and not day to day government expenses.

This headline is the exact reason non payers have been asking for clarity and a process or way to actually see what you put in is being pumped back to your area.

well!
see thats another thing but be careful what you ask for in case you get it!

The 175m will go into the "central fund" but then the "central fund" will give back more than that again to the councils.
"In 2011, a total of €452.67 million was provided to local authorities to supplement expenditure from their own resources on the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads. "
http://www.dttas.ie/roads/regionallocal/index.asp?lang=ENG&loc=2377

If you want local taxes to be kept locally to pay for roads then you will first need to more than quadruple what you are paying now before you are approaching the status of local people paying for local costs.

The figure of 1000pounds+ that is paid by folks in the north might be another indication of what is needed to run local services

danniemcq

munchkin_utd wrote: »

well!
see thats another thing but be careful what you ask for in case you get it!

The 175m will go into the "central fund" but then the "central fund" will give back more than that again to the councils.
"In 2011, a total of €452.67 million was provided to local authorities to supplement expenditure from their own resources on the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads. "
http://www.dttas.ie/roads/regionallocal/index.asp?lang=ENG&loc=2377

If you want local taxes to be kept locally to pay for roads then you will first need to more than quadruple what you are paying now before you are approaching the status of local people paying for local costs.

The figure of 1000pounds+ that is paid by folks in the north might be another indication of what is needed to run local services

See thats the thing i wouldn't mind paying more tax if i seen it was used right.

Our "free education" is a joke
Our "property tax" is a joke
Our "water tax" will be a joke
Our "broadcasting charge" will be a joke

lets not forget when the property, water and broadcasting charges are all brought in we will be up around the €1000 mark anyway. some people will already be paying that much

Just to put it in prospective currently in my home town of Rathmullen you cannot drink the tap water due to health concerns.
We have no local services, our nearest library was 20 mins by car away but then it closed.
Its probably not the best idea to swim as the tide is coming in as raw sewage from Letterkenny can often be seen floating down the swilly.

When you look at the Scandenavian countries and the amount of tax they pay at first its shocking till you actually see what they get for it

http://www.thepersonalfinancier.com/2008/07/would-you-be-willing-to-pay-60-tax-for.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson.html

guardian article

http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Work/Labor-market/Salary-and-standard-of-living/

muffler

and unlike the folks in the UK we have to pay separately for our waste disposal

L1011

danniemcq wrote: »

When you look at the Scandenavian countries and the amount of tax they pay at first its shocking till you actually see what they get for it

More isolated areas are similarly treated there - they "what they get for it" is for people in cities and large towns, not the Swedish/Finnish/Norwegian version of Rathmullan.

This is still an extremely low tax economy, its just the few things which *are* taxed to high-for-Europe levels are very bloody obvious - sales tax, drink and energy. Tax gets altered on those and you notice it quick and hard.

Few years ago in London I was paying ~£1300 a year in council tax on a rented flat, and all it got me bins collected whenever Westminister Council felt like it. If I'd had kids there'd have been a fair bit more benefit but I'd need a few to get £1300 worth and by that stage I'd need a bigger flat with more tax... Water costs weren't included and by feck they were dear too.

Was paying close to the Irish higher tax rate on a salary that would barely be taxed at all - albeit that provided NHS cover. Pity it took at least ten days to get a doctor's appointment though!

K-9

danniemcq wrote: »

Varadkar was on the radio this morning disputing this saying it was a lie.

Now i'm all confused, I don't trust either of these sources but both can't be lying.

Probably some truth in both, I suppose this tax is going to pay bank debts as much as any other tax you pay. We were originally told the tax was to replace the local Government fund from central funds, and that can be argued that it is happening in a roundabout way.

But that makes me wonder why the budget is now down €3 Million and they are looking to make more cuts beyond the contentious one they did agree. I suppose they'll say revenue from other sources is down, and when you hear of the cost of rates for premises in Letterkenny, that is no surprise.

Vinegar Hill

Winty wrote: »

I left Donegal 10 years ago and now live in London.

In the UK we have been paying Council Tax since 1993.

Back then my home was taxed at £400.00 per year, this year I will pay £1,800.00

In Ireland its something to be worried about. It may only £100 this year but what will it be in 10 years time?

What of the stamp duty that has been paid? Was that not a property tax as well?

Then again they get loads of things in the UK for their Council tax we don't get here such as bins collected.

donegal_road

Vinegar Hill wrote: »

What of the stamp duty that has been paid? Was that not a property tax as well?

Then again they get loads of things in the UK for their Council tax we don't get here such as bins collected.

The stamp duty was property tax, but the last crowd blew it all at Cheltenham.

Bichon Lover

This is still an extremely low tax economy

No, it is not. There are lots of stealth taxes about. As Muffler has already pointed out we have to pay separately for refuse disposal, and there is private health insurance, an unofficial tax for all those who cannot get a medical card and/or cannot wait a few years to be seen in hospital.

L1011

Bichon Lover wrote: »

No, it is not. There are lots of stealth taxes about.

As there are in every country. Often far higher than here.

The figures don't lie - the overall tax take % here is much lower than the countries people keep comparing us to. Just over 30% as opposed to 39% in the UK, 40% in most northern European countries, 45%+ in Scandinavia.

NIMAN

Why let the facts get in the way of a good argument though!

I hate this constant comparison to Scandavanian countries as if they are Utopia. Its common knowledge, if you are prepared to accept it, that they are higher tax economies than us. I have a friend who lives in Sweden, and I can just imagine the moaning here if Irish folk were asked to pay the prices he is asked to pay everyday.

muffler

Alright guys. Keep it to the local issues please. Thanks.