Cost of living

server down

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Wouldn't agree with that at all. There has been a good correlation between the demand and price in that industry.

But more to your point, are you somehow implying that hotel industry in Ireland is working as some kind of Cartel land and pocketing all the savings in VAT? Nonsense

What I am saying is that reducing the vat on hotel rooms didn’t reduce the prices thus empirically refuting your claim that VAT reductions always are passed onto consumers. Demand at the time didn’t increase. This was in the deep recession

MayoSalmon

server down wrote:

What I am saying is that reducing the vat on hotel rooms didn’t reduce the prices thus empirically refuting your claim that VAT reductions always are passed onto consumers. Demand at the time didn’t increase. This was in the deep recession

The VAT reduction savings can be used in a number of ways. Reinvest in the business, take on extra staff, decrease your room pricing, increase your marketing etc etc.

In the vast vast majority of cases the reduction will be in the customers favour.

server down

MayoSalmon wrote: »

The VAT reduction savings can be used in a number of ways. Reinvest in the business, take on extra staff, decrease your room pricing, increase your marketing etc etc.

In the vast vast majority of cases the reduction will be in the customers favour.

In the case I gave it didn’t.

Anyway do tell us how you are going to finance everything without income tax and VAT.

oscarBravo

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Well they never cut there spending so terribly

Bzzt. Untrue. They had no choice but to cut spending, because they had drastically less tax income to spend:

Prison guards are sharing stab vests at the El Dorado maximum security prison in southern Kansas. At the end of a shift, the sweat-soaked vests, worn all day in a facility without air conditioning, are passed to the next person by guards, many of whom are coming off 12- or 16-hour shifts.

Jail cells designed to hold one inmate are housing three or four at Ellsworth correctional facility. Riots have broken out at other prisons. The family of one guard who recently killed himself told union reps stress and over-work were to blame.

Next year, the state faces a school shutdown after the supreme court found its educational spending was unconstitutionally low. Some of those schools have already had to shorten the school year in order to save cash.

To make ends meet, money that was earmarked for roads has been diverted to the general fund. A state that used to maintain 1,200 miles of road a year is now repairing 200 miles a year. Even in the capital, Topeka, potholes are everywhere.

(source)

Cutting taxes as a way to increase living standards is an idea that only works in libertarian fever dreams. Unless, of course, you're already rich in a corrupt, plutocratic society like the US, in which case, sure: tax cuts will increase your living standards. I'd like to think we haven't yet become a society of "I've got mine, Jack" assholes, but it's clear there is no shortage of people who want to take us there.

Help!!!!

kilopret wrote: »

I'm just wondering if Irish governments ever tries to address the cost of living. Rent is one thing, but doctors have raised there prices again for example(70 quid for bloods+15minute gp vistit in Galway). I think a low cost economy would be a good idea,as it makes us more competitive for wages and the likes.It seems to be a large part of how Ireland positions itself when attracting jobs here.
But if the cost of living goes up then wages go up and that would seem to have a negative impact on the country.
Does this government plan to do anything about this?

If the cost of living is high then people are forced to just get by, so they will be scared to leave a job, so less likely to take time off work to protest
Taxes could easily be cut & the government would still get that money back one way or another

MayoSalmon

server down wrote:

In the case I gave it didn’t.

Not going round in circles here but already said other factors were at play namely shortage of supply etc anyway I never advocated for getting rid of VAT completely.

Merely pointing out the fact that high levels of VAT increase the cost of living and ate a regressive tax. There's multiple study pointing to the fact that poorer people pay much higher shares of their income in VAT than richer people.

The main problem is all tax needed to fund all these government services. Tax reform would need to take multiple years to implement.

Seen a stat recently that 70% or so of the population claim some type of social welfare payment. Crazy stuff and you won't be able to reduce the cost of living when you have those levels of welfare dependency.