Creative taxes nobody will feel

Red Hand

P. Breathnach wrote: »

This coffee-drinker thinks it's a great idea.

Tax the bean, free the leaf.

eoinbn

Not a tax, but...

Legalise drugs and all profits go to the government! They encouraged people to get hooked on cheap credit so why not drugs!

brettmirl

what about if they standardised the VAT rate. Instead of having 21.5% for goods and 13.5% for services, if there was one rate of say 17%?

Would bring us closer to the rate in Northern Ireland, would reduce the prices in shops (to an extent) and might in someway get people spending again/keep money in the economy?

turgon

sink wrote: »

What about a 1c levey on all products sold at €value.99c, (e.g. €1.99, €49.99) I would gladly pay most of the time I do anyway.

The the prices would be just reduced by a cent?

cavedave

tech2

I know its not creative but there should be a charge for using public toilets also.

Lets go old school and put a tax on all bridges too. They can be paid to a troll (well newly homeless man) who would live under each one.

eoinbn

Legalise drugs and all profits go to the government! They encouraged people to get hooked on cheap credit so why not drugs!

I've already said i favor this and already had it pointed out to me that there is legal restrictions based on treatise we have signed that mean we cannot.

Why not go back to Breton law and have no garda. Those who get crimes committed against them have to get the evidence themselves. Then instead of prisons the guilty are fined and the money goes to the harmed. Or you could get rid of the whole trial thing altogether. Certainly the prisons will be mainly filled with innocent people but innocent people will probably behave a lot better so the prisons will be cheaper to run.

Or we could get rid of all publicly funding for infrastructure and replace it with dominant assurance contracts...

dvpower

jimmmy wrote: »

However, tax relief on all pensions should be cut.

And then everyone who is paying into a personal pension would stop overnight.

Income from personal pensions is taxed, so the tax relief only represents deferred tax.

RobAMerc

massively increase VRT on used imported cars - it would help the irish motor trade and make all our cars worth a few more quid.

Would not be popular obviously but there you go.

It sickens me though the introduction of a carbon tax, just shows it has fook all to do with the environment - its just a name and the proceeds do nothing towards helping the environment

ateam

Cigarettes up by 10euro, they're good for no one. (Seriously €1 increase).

15 cent on a pint.

50 cent per bottle of wine.

The dole gets docked by €10.

Increase top rate by 1% to 42%.

Rent allowance is cut by 30% across the country because of falling rent prices.

College fees reintroduced.

Pride Fighter

What I propose is not a tax but a radical idea.
Why dont the government make 4th level education free to those on the dole. So the 1900 dell workers with B.Sc degrees in computer science can do masters or PhD degrees while the recession is in full swing. For every unemployed person the state loses 20,000euro. Paying 5k in University fees would in fact save the state 15,000 euro per person. When the upswing comes again 5-10 years away we have the best educated workforce in Europe, if not the world.

lostexpectation

what about a tech tax, didn't new york try to do that tax ipods and the like?

spadder

Bono Tax- 25% levy on earnings on anyone named Bono.

Friend of Bono Tax- 20% levy on earnings for hanging around, name dropping or licking Bono's hole tax. ( this is the Gerry Ryan clause)

Dalkey Tax- super levy on properties in D4 (not ringsend)and Dalkey

Dubes tax- 42 % tax on Dubarry shoes

Fake tan tax- because your worth it.

djpbarry

Pride Fighter wrote: »

Why dont the government make 4th level education free to those on the dole. So the 1900 dell workers with B.Sc degrees in computer science can do masters or PhD degrees while the recession is in full swing. For every unemployed person the state loses 20,000euro. Paying 5k in University fees would in fact save the state 15,000 euro per person.

You think a PhD only costs 5k? Are you serious?

Pride Fighter

djpbarry wrote: »

You think a PhD only costs 5k? Are you serious?

Per annum fees are 5k. Obviously the person will have to live on something, they can earn a wage tutoring first and second years, get a grant. It would be better and cheaper than not earning a wage and being on the dole. Sure if people are unemployed 6 months they can get their county coucil or VEC to pay their fees and get a grant, albeit a small one.

besty

t-ha wrote: »

More tax on top-hats and cigars.

Hit those fat-cats.

In that case, a monacle tax could also pull in some revenue.

yoshytoshy

Have a tax on electricity that gets higher with usage.
If you go over X amount of units ,you get penalised. Most people with big electricity bills would live in big houses anyways

Beechman

each and every leaflet that comes through your door should be taxed and the company , charity , free newspaper,political partly,takeaway be required to pick up the cost.

I will have no doubt that the amount of junk mail that comes through our door will decrease pretty quick , it will also be good for the enviroment!

Gruffalo

Great thread. These have probably already been said but:

1. Legalise prostitution and tax it and ride our way out of the recession. Anyone who has been to Amsterdam will be aware of how much tourism this can attract.
2. Legalise marijuana and tax it. If the EU object we can make the rollies out of the Lisbon Treaty and tell them where to stick it.
3. Increase the tax on alcohol and make it our patriotic duty to get hammered.
4. Referendum tax. It might make it cheaper to take no for an answer.
5. Boyband Tax. They just wont go away so we might as well tax the hell out of them.
6. Louis Walsh tax. As above.
7. Tax the word tribunal. Anyone who so much as mentions the word pays 1 million yo yos.
8. Bono tax. I know that sounds like an oxymoron but even the mention of his name and you get taxed. If you give him publicity you get taxed even more.
9. A tax on every word used in the Dáil. It will either shut them up or they will get to the point.
10. Claim royalties on all "irish" pubs.
11. Junk food tax. If the fat b'ds (and I am one) cant stop eating crisps, chocolate, takeaways we are gonna need hospital treatment. We should have to pay for this beforehand through tax. 10% on it all.
12. Junk mail tax. 5c on every leaflet.

Or if we want to make it easy we could just look under an ex-Taoiseach's mattress.

fitz0

How about we just cut ministers pensions in half, or better yet make it proportionate to the amount of days they actually showed up at the dail?

djpbarry

Pride Fighter wrote: »

Obviously the person will have to live on something, they can earn a wage tutoring first and second years, get a grant.

First of all, why do you assume that PhD positions are available for all these people? You mention the 1,900 people being released by Dell; I doubt there are 1,900 PhD students in the entire country. Secondly, I think you seriously underestimate the cost of a PhD, which is typically of the order of €15-20k (that's being conservative) before living expenses are factored in. Thirdly, why do you assume that third-level institutions have teaching hours available for prospective PhD students? They're not exactly throwing money at people at the moment.

djpbarry

r0nanf wrote: »

I'm sure Galwegians would love the idea of having to pay for their supply of cryptosporidium...:rolleyes:

Perhaps if people paid for their water, the supply would be better maintained?

joes girls

if someone isnt old enough to work can they be taxed? if they bring in text tax it will cost me big time:eek::eek::(

djpbarry

joes girls wrote: »

if someone isnt old enough to work can they be taxed?

Sure. You pay VAT, don't you?

yoshytoshy

djpbarry wrote: »

Perhaps if people paid for their water, the supply would be better maintained?

If water is to be paid for it should be privatised. I won't be paying charges otherwise ,the current set up is a joke.

Ironbars

yoshytoshy wrote: »

Have a tax on electricity that gets higher with usage.
If you go over X amount of units ,you get penalised. Most people with big electricity bills would live in big houses anyways

Wouldnt work, we have always been aware of energy use and do our bit to lessen our own footprint but since we had a baby the bills have rocketed (x2.5). The steriliser/kettle and heating on full time.

Dont hit us

yoshytoshy

Ironbars wrote: »

Wouldnt work, we have always been aware of energy use and do our bit to lessen our own footprint but since we had a baby the bills have rocketed (x2.5). The steriliser/kettle and heating on full time.

Dont hit us

Fair enough ,no more said about it:)

Congratulations btw:)

The Insider

nhughes100 wrote: »

It's not totally wrong, if you pay 200 euro a month into the fund before the levy, you will now pay double that and you will get nothing like the tax relief that a private pension would give you. There's one whammy, 2nd whammy is that private pensions get much better tax relief then public sector, triple whammy is that there is no choice in public sector pension contributions. Fourth whammy due to the cost of the public sector pension contributions few people in the PS could afford a private pension and sure they're so great anyway why would you want to? Give me a break. Feel free to take my pension away, I'd get great tax relief on 400 quid a month I could invest in my own pension scheme. Oh and I just thougth of a fifth whammy, even if you're not in the pension scheme and work in the public sector you still have to pay the levy!

You are being asked to contribute a percentage to your pension in the the public service (which is guaranteed and index linked), if you were in the private sector and paying that €400 that would be the full amount that is going into your pension. Big difference.

nhughes100

The Insider wrote: »

You are being asked to contribute a percentage to your pension in the the public service (which is guaranteed and index linked), if you were in the private sector and paying that €400 that would be the full amount that is going into your pension. Big difference.

The real big difference is that in the private sector I could do what I like with my 400 euro, ie I have a choice.

Daithinski

cavedave wrote: »

Lets go old school and put a tax on all bridges too. They can be paid to a troll (well newly homeless man) who would live under each one.

I like it!:D

Maybe this is what we should make Brian Cowen do as punishment for being a useless tw@t.

He looks like a troll. Give him a furry loincloth and a club, and bobs your uncle.

Villain

Legalise Drugs and Prostitution and tax them highly and sent anyone caught trading either outside the law to Prison without trial, could get billions from it and get scum off the street

jimmmy

nhughes100 wrote: »

if you pay 200 euro a month into the fund before the levy, you will now pay double that

If a public servant pays 200 or 400 a month in to "the fund" , bear in mind given the generous nature of public service pensions they do not even pay the full economic cost of their pension. If they did it would be over 25% of their salary. Public servants are still being subsidised in their pensions by the taxpayer. The fairest thing would be to take away all pension levies, all tax reliefs on pensions, and pay nobody anything unless they were means tested. If people - public or private - wish to have a pension or money for a rainy day - which is of course a good idea - let the govt not interfere.