Could this be it, Irish ISAs?

unhappyBB

Just saw this article this morning (well the free initial paragraph, not the full one). What could it mean? Finally a sensible solution for Irish investors or just an empty pre-election promise?

https://www.businesspost.ie/news/tax-incentives-for-retail-investors-to-come-in-next-budget/

bilbot79

Saw this myself and it felt like manna from heaven. There is also talk a out raising the standard fund threshold for pensions.

I can only assume Ireland may be about to become more attractive for investors.

Now to work on a promotion before A Place in the Sun permanently relocates to Dublin

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058351598/could-this-be-it-irish-isas

Devil is in the detail but ultimately it is the government wanting to dip into people's savings for capital expenditure.

marathonic

The wording of another article on the subject suggested to me that it was some sort of an extension to the EIIS scheme which is the last thing the government want to do.

Outside of the tax situation in Ireland, one of the main things that turned my fathers generation away from the stockmarket was the Telecom Eireann flotation in 1999. This was a complete disaster for many and many friends have been warned away from the stockmarket by parents who had been burned. Many who faced losses attributed those losses to the government of the time.

If they decided to extend the EIIS scheme, which is inherently risky due to only investing in small SME in Ireland, they could be pushing a brand new generation of Irish citizens towards a scheme that results in signficiant potential losses.

As per the original post, an Irish version of the UK ISA would be ideal. Don't limit new investors to the riskiest of asset classes and risk a scorned electorate when the next elections roll around. Instead, give people more freedom around what they can invest in and they have no one but themselves to blame if it goes pear-shaped.

marathonic

"Invest in startups and other projects" is a phrase in this article too. It definitely looks like they're trying to encourage savers to withdraw their cash on deposit and move it from the lowest of the low risk asset class to one of the riskiest asset classes available to invest in.

Supercell

Given that the powers that be think the reason retail doesn't invest in ETF's here because they are too "complicated" and not because of the penalisation by taxes….Strange how our fellow english speaking Americans and Brits don't seem to suffer that malaise…

I'm not holding my breath. An Irish ISA/IRA ..we'll see partition ended before that happens.

crushproof

If this does happen it would be a huge step in the right direction and could tempt people to move back. I know I'm not the only one across the pond who's reluctant to move back home because of the incredibly restricted investment and savings environment.