George Lee's Tax Return - RTE 1 @ 9:35 - 26/11/12

Lapin

The man that was given the chance to do something about the taxes we pay is now back on the airways talking about it instead.

Looks interesting nonetheless.

I never knew our government were raking in €38k per minute in taxes. :eek:

Lady Chatterton

George Lee returns to our TV screens tonight after a period in exile. Anyone watching this?

Tax - You pay it on virtually everything you earn. You pay it on almost everything you do. And after the Budget you'll likely be paying even more of it. But how would you feel if you knew exactly how your various taxes were spent? As the Dáil debates a Tax Transparency Bill which aims to give Irish taxpayers an annual account of how their taxes are spent, George Lee meets Irish families wondering where their tax money goes and what they get in return.

http://www.rte.ie/tv/programmes/georgeleestaxreturn.html

MagicMarker

Yep, family on now pissing and moaning about not having enough money. Probably should have considered that before having 2 kids in the last 2 years.

Lapin

MrsD007 wrote: »

Geprge Lee returns to our TV screens tonight after a period of exile. Anyone watching this?

Yep, me. Here

Lady Chatterton

Lapin wrote: »

Yep, me. Here

Sorry hun I'll ask the Mods to lock mine

Lapin

MrsD007 wrote: »

Sorry hun I'll ask the Mods to lock mine

No need. Can't they just keep this one going or merge them ?

yop

Depression TV

Lady Chatterton

Lapin wrote: »

No need. Can't they just keep this one going or merge them ?

I've asked them to merge the two

Jill Kirby drives me bonkers :mad:

Guy on just there talking about how poor his financial position is on his part-time dole payment.

Then the camera pans out as he leaves his mansion.

Lisha

I really am scared of the budget, we are both working but there is nothing left over . Apart from a modest mortgage and a car loan we have no debts are still juggling bills to cover them. I know we are luckier than most but it s just such a struggle not to fall into debt and our life style Is modest no holidays no out and feic all on clothes
I seriously font know how some cope

I_smell_fear

Rojomcdojo wrote: »

Guy on just there talking about how poor his financial position is on his part-time dole payment.

Then the camera pans out as he leaves his mansion.

I see that they didn't show him driving his Rolls Royce either. Quite suspicious, indeed!

Lady Chatterton

Rojomcdojo wrote: »

Guy on just there talking about how poor his financial position is on his part-time dole payment.

Then the camera pans out as he leaves his mansion.

I think you're being unfair, even if he wanted to sell it who would buy it?

MagicMarker

Lisha wrote: »

I really am scared of the budget, we are both working but there is nothing left over . Apart from a modest mortgage and a car loan we have no debts are still juggling bills to cover them. I know we are luckier than most but it s just such a struggle not to fall into debt

Sell the car and buy a banger, or get the bus.

yop

MagicMarker wrote: »

Sell the car and buy a banger, or get the bus.

And say if you have to drive for 1.5 hrs each way to work and the earliest bus wouldn't get there til 11am.
Not a real world answer.

Lady Chatterton

MagicMarker wrote: »

Sell the car and buy a banger, or get the bus.

I can't speak for Lisha but I can tell you that in Co. Clare our bus service is p1ss poor and you couldn't rely on it to get to work.

MrsD007

MrsD007 wrote: »

I think you're being unfair, even if he wanted to sell it who would buy it?

The point being that the size of the dole payment is irrelevant when you owe the price of a mansion. Does he expect some sort of mansion-solidarity payment along with his dole?



"I don't know what they spend the tax on."

*goes to post office*

"This? Sure this money came from the money tree down the post office."

Lady Chatterton

I find the Home Help cuts so depressing, it is going to cost the State substantially more if these people end up in Nursing Homes.

Lisha

MagicMarker wrote: »

Sell the car and buy a banger, or get the bus.

Ha a bus where I m living they don't exist lol
It's a 4 yr old car any thing older would be a killer on repairs and higher tax I drive 35miles each way to work so car is necessity not a luxury

nc6000

How much of our tax money was wasted on the by-election George won?

Lady Chatterton

nc6000 wrote: »

How much of our tax money was wasted on the by-election George won?

He let down the people who voted for him, he should have tried harder to make things work.

Lapin

I always get annoyed by people who boast about never having stood in a dole queue or taking a penny from the state.

It gives the impression that they think they deserve preferential treatment.

The don't. This is not a two tier state and the vast majority of those on welfare don't want to be there either, despite getting back what they themselves paid into the system during their working days.

Lisha

The cuts to home help are an assault on the most vulnerable
The cuts affecting mentally handicapped and autism SNA s are just disgusting
The figures for pupil teacher ratio s in the next few yrs are depressing factor in loss to SNA s our education system is in serious trouble

Lady Chatterton

Lisha wrote: »

The cuts to home help are an assault on the most vulnerable
The cuts affecting mentally handicapped and autism SNA s are just disgusting
The figures for pupil teacher ratio s in the next few yrs are depressing factor in loss to SNA s our education system is in serious trouble

In the last year or so the Department of Social Welfare have been stopping disability payments to some children with Autism/ Downs Syndrome as the department feel that they are not disabled enough and that these children do not require any additional care than another child of the same age :rolleyes:

We live in very disturbing times :mad:

Skid

George Lee is so eloquent on economic matters - I wonder if he would ever consider running for the Dáil? :rolleyes:

Lady Chatterton

Why doesn't she get tenants or a lodger instead of a second job?

Paranoid Mandroid

She's not doing that bad. A salary of 29 - 31k and a mortgage of €650 a month. Not the best example of a person struggling really.

This woman pays 600 per month in a mortgage and can't afford it with one civil service job working in the department of social services? What is she possibly spending the rest of her money on? She pays something like 40 euro a week in tax, and wonders "how much of that is going to pay off the IMF."

I wouldn't trust her to mind a pet, let alone sorting through social protection documents.

Lapin

Why don't self employed workers get the dole if their business goes belly up ?

InReality

Its very easy to see where money is going , I don't know why george says its such a mystery. Whats more a mystery is how much money people have stashed away and how for example small shopkeepers can stay open if they are losing money ?

yop

Lapin wrote: »

Why don't self employed workers get the dole if their business goes belly up ?

A question I asked every day. I pay the same taxes as PAYE, but get ZERO back on it.

Skid

This is all over the place. it has gone from 'everyone's paying too much tax' to briefly stopping at public sector v private sector, then a bit about self employed in about 10 minutes.

Needs more structure.

Jayob10

Paranoid Mandroid wrote: »

She's not doing that bad. A salary of 29 - 31k and a mortgage of €650 a month. Not the best example of a person struggling really.

thats actually pretty mad!

What is she doing with the rest of her money??

These shows never give you the full picture. Rather than whinging and complaining about the need for a second job she should cut out the luxuries, the sky plus, the gym membership, the nights out etc.......

29k a year with a mortgage of 650 per month, thats just a crazy example of someone "struggling".

yop

Rojomcdojo wrote: »

This woman pays 600 per month in a mortgage and can't afford it with one civil service job working in the department of social services? What is she possibly spending the rest of her money on? She pays something like 40 euro a week in tax, and wonders "how much of that is going to pay off the IMF."

I wouldn't trust her to mind a pet, let alone sorting through social protection documents.

40???? She pays 7k a year.

Skid

She should cut out renting at Xtravision for a start.

themadchef

George appears to look so happy when he's telling them how much of their money is going to pay the banks.

Like a parody of himself at times. I think ive watched too many sketches with him in it

yop

Jayob10 wrote: »

thats actually pretty mad!

What is she doing with the rest of her money??

These shows never give you the full picture. Rather than whinging and complaining about the need for a second job she should could out the luxuries, the sky plus, the gym membership, the nights out etc.......

29k a year with a mortgage of 650 per month, thats just a crazy example of someone "struggling".

I am presuming she is paying electricity, heating, house insurance, tv license, sky, car insurance, car tax, car fuel, car running costs.
Health cover? Bin charges, water/waste/sewage charges.
Then food.

Start adding up your costs and see what it comes to, it might actually surprise you.

Our man in Havana

MagicMarker wrote: »

Yep, family on now pissing and moaning about not having enough money. Probably should have considered that before having 2 kids in the last 2 years.

A great ad for contraception.

Kristopherus

Lapin wrote: »

Why don't self employed workers get the dole if their business goes belly up ?

Because most of them pay only Class S contributions. They could always form a ltd co. and become an employee the same as their staff and pay Class A PRSI. Then they would get welfare.

Jayob10

Jayob10 wrote: »

thats actually pretty mad!

What is she doing with the rest of her money??

These shows never give you the full picture. Rather than whinging and complaining about the need for a second job she should could out the luxuries, the sky plus, the gym membership, the nights out etc.......

29k a year with a mortgage of 650 per month, thats just a crazy example of someone "struggling".

I doubt she's in a gym, unless it's a gym for practicing phrases like "During the Celtic Tiger, civil servants were on a very modest wage..."

She pays 800 euro in tax a year ffs.

Heroditas

Rojomcdojo wrote: »

This woman pays 600 per month in a mortgage and can't afford it with one civil service job working in the department of social services? What is she possibly spending the rest of her money on? She pays something like 40 euro a week in tax, and wonders "how much of that is going to pay off the IMF."

I wouldn't trust her to mind a pet, let alone sorting through social protection documents.

And without a hint of irony, she wonders where all the tax money goes.
To pay her bloody wages!!!!

Lady Chatterton

yop wrote: »

I am presuming she is paying electricity, heating, house insurance, tv license, sky, car insurance, car tax, car fuel, car running costs.
Health cover? Bin charges, water/waste/sewage charges.
Then food.

Start adding up your costs and see what it comes to, it might actually surprise you.

She probably has a car loan as well.

Skid

The elephant in the room about Mortgages is Interest Rates. They are only going to go up in the Medium Term

yop

yop wrote: »

I am presuming she is paying electricity, heating, house insurance, tv license, sky, car insurance, car tax, car fuel, car running costs.
Health cover? Bin charges, water/waste/sewage charges.
Then food.

Start adding up your costs and see what it comes to, it might actually surprise you.

So what you're saying is: she pays roughly 1k per month, almost twice the cost of her mortgage, in necessary utilities?

Give us a break.

StillWaters

A 2,000 mortgage, did I hear right? For a bog standard house.

InReality

Property tax is a no brainer in other countries. maybe give recent stamp duty a break , but apart from that it has to come in.

Lenin Skynard

It really is all over the place. Every sector of society complaining and blaming each other and George doesn't present a common string to tie the whole thing together. It needs graphics and diagrams and all that malarky, it just looks like a portrait of Irish society cannabalising itself.

Jayob10

yop wrote: »

I am presuming she is paying electricity, heating, house insurance, tv license, sky, car insurance, car tax, car fuel, car running costs.
Health cover? Bin charges, water/waste/sewage charges.
Then food.

Start adding up your costs and see what it comes to, it might actually surprise you.

I am presuming civil servants have a company health policy as benefit in kind.

There are alot of people on the breadline and really struggling, its taking the p*ss to say this woman falls into that category.

Going by the figures, she has 22k after tax (which i'd question for a start) Minus her monthly mortgage she would have just below €1200 per month for her utilities.

Taking all the average utilities into account she should still have just above €200 per week disposable income. Which is not dire straits in fairness.

Seems as though its a real nuisance for some Irish folk (on good wages) to trim the fat and be more economical with their finances.

yop

Rojomcdojo wrote: »

So what you're saying is: she pays roughly 1k per month, almost twice the cost of her mortgage, in necessary utilities?

Give us a break.

Well I can't read her mind, can you?

So with your mortgage and your utility bills and living expenses including house/car tax/insurance etc, are you saying that you aren't paying 500, 600, 700 a month?

InReality

Lenin Skynard wrote: »

It really is all over the place. Every sector of society complaining and blaming each other and George doesn't present a common string to tie the whole thing together. It needs graphics and diagrams and all that malarky, it just looks like a portrait of Irish society cannabalising itself.

Its a terrible program really. No clarity about anything !

Lady Chatterton

InReality wrote: »

Property tax is a no brainer in other countries. maybe give recent stamp duty a break , but apart from that it has to come in.

I would have no objection to paying a property tax if I received proper services in return. It is a bit much to have to pay over €700 for a fire brigade call out if you are paying property tax.

yop

Jayob10 wrote: »

I am presuming civil servants have a company health policy as benefit in kind.

There are alot of people on the breadline and really struggling, its taking the p*ss to say this woman falls into that category.

Seems as though its a real nuisance for some Irish folk (on good wages) to trim the fat and be more economical with their finances.

I don't really expect you to answer this, but do you have a mortgage and car?