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Tax Advantaged Savings/Investment Accounts

Francie Barrett

https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2026/02/16/a-new-savings-scheme-for-irelands-middle-classes-heres-what-we-know-so-far/

Simon Harris has been proposing these over the weekend and today.

The idea is that you could take some of your income and invest it with tax advantages. There's been many false dawn's with this in the past, so colour me sceptical. If he actually pulls it off, it would be a huge boost for the ordinary taxpayer.

Would people avail of this scheme, assuming it sees the light of day?

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Jim_Hodge

Might be best to change the thread title. It's an investment rather than a savings option.

drunkmonkey

He's proposing nothing it's just another dictat from Europe, this is in the EU pipeline for a while, they want the money out of bank accounts to fund the green agenda and defence (or war depening on your take of the current situation).

As with all investments they can go to 0 and i'll assume this one probably will.

Montage of Feck

Just simplify the tax on etfs.

bored65

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058432779/tax-advantaged-savings-investment-accounts

Article is extremely light on details, a UK style ISA (non cash) would be great

Dropping the stupid ETF taxation rate that’s higher than already extortionate capital gains, and deemed disposal etc 8 year (and not being able to offset loses) be even better

The government dug themselves into a hole with some of the most punitive and bizarre investment rules in the world

Right now I can open any number of apps on phone and buy US stocks or crypto and pay less tax on potential gains (and offset loses) and be subject to less paperwork than buying a European ETF, or buying Irish company shares (throw stamp duty on top)

It’s backward, and that’s why hundreds of billions flow into US markets from our pensions {when not snapping up properties} and investments here in Ireland and across EU, fuelling a regime voted in by couch ****ing hillbillies that hate everything about us and supported by tech bros who want to and are actively trying to dismantle our democracies for their oligarchic vision of a future

drunkmonkey

Wishful thinking this is to fund the dreams of the EU commission and help plug the €800 billion a year hole in the EU finances coming up as signalled by the Draghi report.

The plan, empty peoples savings accounts.
You won’t be buying non EU instruments with these investments.

I’m very sceptical about this, the EU know 80% of people don’t know what to do with money in their accounts and that’s who they’re after. The rest of us will be hit with taxes on unrealised gains like the proposed laws winding their way through parliament in the Netherlands at the moment.

If Ukraine wasn’t a thing I’d be a little less sceptical but when there’s no limit on funding to combat Russia this could end badly as some of these funds are earmarked for defence funding.

bored65

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124241513#Comment_124241513

Just checked, 33% growth in last year in JEGI European investment trust for example

Now it’s on LSE measured in pounds so there is that forex risk

But still much better than US funds in last year that look great on surface until you look at Euro to usd rate in same period

Something like JEGI style ETF but in Euro with lower capital gains and without the bizarre deemed disposable rules be great, or even better a range of options so those for example who care about environment or obsessed with crypto can put their money where their mouths are depending on their risk appetite and so on, all eu markets had a blast of a year despite the clown in the whitehouse or the gremlin in the Kremlin

Francie Barrett

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124241513#Comment_124241513

You could be right, but so far it doesn't sound like this is what Harris is talking about.

What's been suggested so far is providing an opportunity for the "squeezed middle" to save and invest. Harris specifically cited the Swedish model which allows Swedes to invest part of their money tax-free with no restrictions.

If this came to pass it would be excellent for ordinary people. Lots of people I know are put off getting started in investing because it requires you to keep records and file tax returns which can be complex when only dealing with minor amounts of money. Imagine just being able to direct debit €xxx a month into your online account, auto configuring that money to go into your preferred ETF with dividends auto-reinvested. No faffing about with tax returns or balancing losses/gains to fill a tax return. Extend that to kids as well, let parents save for college for example.

It's a serious game changer and would get a generation of young people out of bank deposits losing their value after inflation/DIRT.

combat14

the government will make far more money on a smaller tax rate if they can get savers to switch from 0% bank savings account to investing instead it will be a win win for all - the only losers will be the traditional banks who have raped their customers for too long

valoren

Imagine being able to buy index funds and letting your money (or your childrens money) compound over decades so that they would have a nest egg when we're older. Like having a Stock and Shares ISA with a maximum of 25k a year into a tax sheltered account. We're not a country with a culture of owning individual stocks so having Vanguardesque index funds to buy would be brilliant. Imagine grandparents giving their grandkids cash (e.g. a €50 voucher for a World fund) and then that cash compounding over decades for them. Would be a game changer and utterly stupid that it hasn't been common place all along.

drunkmonkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124241821#Comment_124241821

they need to hugely move inheritance thresholds, there way to penal in today’s world. If this is to encourage younger savers fair enough but anyone older the government is just getting more tax when you die.

You should be able to pass wealth down through generations without being super rich, there’s only very limited ways to do this at the moment, property/land open to the public, art on display or buy a forrest if you want to look after the grandkids that don’t even exist yet.

bored65

More details from the kite flying coming out

https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/tax-breaks-savers-stock-market-simon-harris-ireland-n5hbfxjqf

“According to the memo, this new account will be designed to support households in getting greater returns on their savings. It is due to form a key element of the coming budget, and will be rolled out from 2027.Officials in the Department of Finance are examining the Investeringssparkonto (ISK) in Sweden, which has one of the highest rates of stock market investors in the world.In Sweden, the first €28,000 a person invests in an ISK is tax free, with a low tax on the remainder which includes profits made on investments.”

bored65

https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2026/0329/1565710-capital-gains-tax/

“A spokesman for the Tánaiste said Minister Harris "believes we need to strengthen Ireland's investment culture, giving people real opportunities to make more of their hard-earned money".

The minister aims to introduce the scheme as part of Budget 2027 so accounts will be operational next year.”

I guess the devil will be in the details if or when they come out, but more hints being dropped today

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124348426#Comment_124348426

From the Swedish scheme:

It eliminates capital gains tax on individual sales, instead applying a low annual standardized tax based on the total account value, collected every quarter.

Then there will intermediary fees, so as always when it comes to Harris, heads we win, tails you lose, but I get to look good

A lot of us got fcuked by eircom

https://chatgpt.com/c/69c8f949-83f0-832f-a59d-6cdbc315171b

and then again in 2007/2008

and as the younger generation have no mula, the 170 bn in cash belongs, in most part, to a rapidly greying cohort so good luck with this bs

combat14

a flat tax every year on ordinary citizens investments be a good tax spinner for government .. 1.065% each year would be about 1.8 bn in tax each year if all 170 billion of savers money ended up in the scheme versus 500 million on 1% bank interest at 33% capital gains tax ...

no wonder harris is keen to push this .. the government can do better than the swedish model for hard working tax payers how about the uk isa model or simply no deemed disposal and 30% tax on etfs to allow everyone invest in a safe etf

combat14

in the irish times today John Fitzgerald states:

"New savings scheme will involve tax cuts for the rich paid for by rest of the population

If there were real competition here between banks, Irish depositors would be substantially better off"

Dr Fitzgerald implies that the scheme will mainly benefit the top 20% in the state however that is lumping in our 11 billionaires and 1600 20+millionaires with mainly people who are lucky to own their own home in a housing crisis after decades of hard work ..

does John just want irish people to buy property for ever and thats it ... what about giving everyone in the state including the so called bottom 80% a chance to buy etf shares over time (without deemed disposal at fair tax rates) .. what about letting the whole country becoming richer instead of fluting around with bank deposits and increased bank competition … how about teaching all our kids financial education in school and show them the magic of real compounding over time instead of just 0-2% nominal interest rates from banks which fall below real inflation rates and are then taxed to death by the incompetent miserly state

of course dr. fitzgeralds genius insight is pay walled for the so called rich to enjoy

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2026/04/06/new-savings-scheme-will-involve-tax-cuts-for-the-rich-paid-for-by-the-rest-of-the-population/

Dr Robert

Whether this will be a better investment strategy than just having a diversified portfolio of individual shares for CGT is debatable.

The folks at Askaboutmoney have some great info on it.