Ireland the land of taxes and endless "fees"

Completely agree toll bridges anyone. the stats here for Irelands tax is with regard to our GDP and our GDP is swayed by our MNCs we should be looking at our GNP as the correct measure. If you live in Ireland and try and do things the right way you get bent over and raped for money, while those on the dole keep on doling and the lads in the public sector continue the watching of the clock, the people in power for the last 2/3 decades have made an absolute b0ll0x of our finances.

I think there's another aspect to this. It's not about deserving, or undeserving, immigrants at all: it's the model of country we want.

This really goes back to Mary Harney 20 years ago, when she told us that "the economy" needed 40k (or was it 50k) immigrants per annum for five years.

I don't want to live in an "economy" but in a country. However some politicians, bought and paid for or just foolish, think Ireland should be a tax-free platform for MNCs to use willy-nilly.

That might have been fine when all we had was enormous emigration - but times have changed, and today we should be looking at each MNC from the point of view that they make a positive contribution to our society, or not. And if not, then we don't want to encourage them, unless they pay enough tax to make it worth our while.

But if they don't make a positive contribution, and they don't pay lots of tax either, then let them look elsewhere.

Who is boasting? Only one with an issue is you.

Now VAT @23% on anything outside of food and kids clothes? VRT? Anything else your FG buddies are screwing people on? 😀

To be fair, you were prattling on about your friends private jet for some reason. Regardless, you won't find many who are going to want to emulate anything to do with the US economic system in this country outside of maybe the top fifth of earners. Ireland outranks the US in most international metrics anyway as do most other high-tax countries.

I don't really know if it is worse here or not.

A bit like this thread people claim we are the most taxed in Europe when we are not, others claim that we have the worst housing crises in Europe when we may not.

But housing was not a big factor in the Galway Intel decision.

Simple. It's a welfare state so the working man has to pay for it. The level of handouts here is unreal, tell someone from another country what you can get here for not working they'll be dumbfounded.

There are toll bridges the world over.

This argument needs to move to what you take home in your pocket after paying out all taxes, all stealth charges and paying for services that should be covered in what a working person pays out in income tax. We pay income tax at a very very low level (40k when the higher rate kicks in) and at a very high rate and that is under any comparison world wide. The fact is our welfare competes with low paid jobs and our low paid jobs with handouts from the government and the low level of tax they pay compete with average paying jobs and the high rates of income tax and cost of actually going to work cuts the legs off from anyone earning more or working more in OT due to the very punitive % of tax you pay on your days work. This is a fact in this county and there is no getting around it.

So what do you come home with after paying out

PAYE, PRSI, USC, VAT, Carbon tax, rent/mortgage, oil/gas for heating, Plastic bag levies, toll bridge, Property tax, stamp duty, electricity standing charges, Health insurance, Home insurance, Life insurance, bin charges, DIRT, CGT, CAT,VRT, doctor/dental/hospital bills.

A lot of people with all of the above that we are made pay and a lot we pay twice for such as medical insurance and then a visit to the doctor and we pay 4 times for the use of our roads as in we pay income tax, then motor tax, then VAT and carbon tax on petrol/diesel and then we pay toll bridges, like how much more are people expected to give.

Personally after all of the above is paid and before a scrap of food or a thread of clothing is put on my families back I am down 85% of what I make. So when shopping for either its Aldi and Pennies all the way, my wallet goes into cardiac arrest if I step anywhere near the likes of Brown Thomas or Marks and Spenser's for Clothes or food.

Anyone arguing we don't pay enough in this country has an agenda or are too rich to care.