Tax Credits and "The Greater Good"

Limecube

I went from being self-employeed to PAYE employed three year ago. Since then, my tax credits have always been messed up in comparison to my partner (or friends). A few years ago, I rang Revenue to try and get it sorted out but you had to wait ages on a line with horrible hold music, so I never got around to ever actually talking to an agent.

Anyways, I was mentioning the fact I was overpaying tax for past few years to friends tonight – I'm paying around €460/month more than I should for past three years.

What I was surprised, is that they said that they strongly saw tax credits as theft. Tax credits are inherently unfair because they give an unfair advantage to rich people who are earning a wage.

I'd never really thought of tax credits like that and I guess, I was a little surprised to be put into the same category as an Anglo board member.

Its still on my list to correct my revenue tax credit record, but just wondering if I'm alone in thinking that tax credits for things like Personal Tax Credit and PAYE tax credit are not evil/stealing from the poor?

Snippets of my 2014 Tax Cert:

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BanAllFirearms

There should be a tax increase of 1000% on all firearms

Stavros Murphy

BanAllFirearms wrote: »

There should be a tax increase of 1000% on all firearms

If I had an e-gun, I'd shoot everything you post, in the spirit of attack the post not the poster.

OP, I agree with you.

angelfire9

OP

Why is your spouse getting your personal tax credit?
Unless their wages are substantially greater than yours that is just silly

Limecube

angelfire9 wrote: »

OP

Why is your spouse getting your personal tax credit?
Unless their wages are substantially greater than yours that is just silly

TBH, don't really understand the bit where I'm giving "spouse" any credits! Certainly, I never signed anything. In terms of gross, I'm on €105k and spouse is on €49k.

BanAllFirearms

Stavros Murphy wrote: »

If I had an e-gun, I'd shoot everything you post, in the spirit of attack the post not the poster.

OP, I agree with you.

Violence is never the solution
Have you not heard that
"the pen is mightier than the sword"
Or in this case the keyboard

angelfire9

Limecube wrote: »

TBH, don't really understand the bit where I'm giving "spouse" any credits! Certainly, I never signed anything. In terms of gross, I'm on €105k and spouse is on €49k.

Spouse has 3.300 personal tax credit
50% of that is yours

**facepalm**

You know you can only claim rebates of overpayments for I think it's 4 years now so 2009/2010 onwards
You need to get your tax credits sorted ASAP

Limecube

angelfire9 wrote: »

You need to get your tax credits sorted ASAP

Yep! Its certainly on the list. I guess my theme (badly written!) in the OP was not so much, that my credits are in a mess. Its the idea that credits in themselves are theft. That everyone with a wage should be paying tax on their first euro of earning.

From my perspective, if I was paying tax on the totality of my income, it would be a good chunk more than I currently pay. I'd certainly feel it. But availing (or planning to avail of) the allowed for tax credits do help reduce the impact of taxation each month.

I guess my question is: how many think the tax credits should be abolished and tax paid on the first euro earned? Do you consider people availing of PAYE tax credits to be stealing from other citizens?

Frosty McSnowballs

BanAllFirearms wrote: »

Violence is never the solution
Have you not heard that
"the pen is mightier than the sword"
Or in this case the keyboard

Not if the keyboard is being repeatedly bashed off your face until it goes mushy like a roast tomato.

angelfire9

Limecube wrote: »

Yep! Its certainly on the list. I guess my theme (badly written!) in the OP was not so much, that my credits are in a mess. Its the idea that credits in themselves are theft. That everyone with a wage should be paying tax on their first euro of earning.

From my perspective, if I was paying tax on the totality of my income, it would be a good chunk more than I currently pay. I'd certainly feel it. But availing (or planning to avail of) the allowed for tax credits do help reduce the impact of taxation each month.

I guess my question is: how many think the tax credits should be abolished and tax paid on the first euro earned? Do you consider people availing of PAYE tax credits to be stealing from other citizens?

Huh?
I don't know how or why you think that
Do you know how the tax system works

Ballpark example (figures off the top of my head)

Wages of 48,800
Standard rate cut off is 32,800 (not exactly but close enough)
So you pay 41% on anything above 32,800 in this case 16,000 @41%

And the first 32,800 at 20%

Add both together
(16,000*41%) + (32,800*20%)
That is tax due
Minus tax credits
= tax payable

gustafo

Good god do you have anything else to be thinking about or doing on a saturday night then tax credits get a life boi

Then again i must be worse to be reading and replying to it.

Senna

Have you went on to ros.ie? It was 2 years since I done it but you can ask them to check if you you are entitled to any tax rebates for up to 4 year previous.
I got 4 cheques about a week later, largest one was for €2.65, obviously mine were nearly all correct.