I'm sick to death of being taxed to death !

Chris Martin

There's an awful lot to be said for complete and utter transparency in Finance.
Once the figures are in the open, questions can be asked with complete certainty.
No more materialized figures, nothing to hide. In theory, such a simple solution.

tayto lover

jimmy180sx wrote: »

No road tax I'm afraid. They thought situations like that and renamed it motor tax..

That doesn't add up though especially if you consider that they sent the Property Tax to fund Irish Water. Property Tax is not Water Tax.

eeguy

It's funny that the guy dutifully paying his taxes is told to emigrate if he's not happy with the way things are run, but when a homeless person in the city is offered a house down the country immediately people are up in arms about moving him away from his "support network".

holyhead

Inheritance tax is another load of nonsense. It's like a double taxation as the money used to build up the inheritance was subject to tax in the first place.

The Belly

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

Vote, get elected, accept or emigrate. Any other options?

I have to agree not many other options. I have chosen to emigrate. Noonans introduction of the reduced CGT to 10% was the catalyst to sell up.

Chris Martin

holyhead wrote: »

Inheritance tax is another load of nonsense. It's like a double taxation as the money used to build up the inheritance was subject to tax in the first place.

Huge +1

It's like being penalized for saving.
Akin to when the church used to visit deathbeds and ask people for all their possessions in exchange for a trip to heaven.
Water tax is there to improve water services, motor tax for roads and to atone for pollution emitted, what the hell is inheritance tax for?

Imagine leaving a grandchild €5,000 and taking money off them.
I guess to be in a position to do something like that everything must be treated as a statistic.

eeguy

Thousands came out in protest that after tax is a double tax.
Like you already pay for it in general taxation so why should I pay a utility for water?

Got me thinking about housing. My taxes pay for thousands of houses to be built, but I still pay a mortgage for my house.

My tax pays for free travel, but I have to pay for travel.
My tax pays for medical cards, but I have to pay to see the doctor.
Etc etc.

Sometimes I feel like a second class citizen, since it feels like my tax pays to ease the lives of those who pay no tax, while I get absolutely nothing in return.

I don't mind paying tax, I just wish I would get some form of benefit from it.

Professor Moriarty

eeguy wrote: »

Thousands came out in protest that after tax is a double tax.
Like you already pay for it in general taxation so why should I pay a utility for water?

Got me thinking about housing. My taxes pay for thousands of houses to be built, but I still pay a mortgage for my house.

My tax pays for free travel, but I have to pay for travel.
My tax pays for medical cards, but I have to pay to see the doctor.
Etc etc.

Sometimes I feel like a second class citizen, since it feels like my tax pays to ease the lives of those who pay no tax, while I get absolutely nothing in return.

I don't mind paying tax, I just wish I would get some form of benefit from it.

You must be on a big salary.

eeguy

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

You must be on a big salary.

I thought we were in the ROI forum, not after hours.

Professor Moriarty

eeguy wrote: »

I thought we were in the ROI forum, not after hours.

I have no idea what that means.

Chris Martin

Rip Off Ireland

The real Moriarty would've known that.. :P

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Kristopherus wrote: »

You got a PAY RISE of €24K a year and you're unhappy:(. Do you realise that that there are thousands and thousands of employees working for €24000 and all you can do is complain:rolleyes:.

Lol... How dumb are u.

relax carry on

So forget about what it's spent on etc. What is the level of direct taxation people feel is the right amount to pay on earned income? Keep in mind if you are reducing the level of tax intake from direct taxation you need to either increase it somewhere else or reduce state spending to match.

tomofson

With all respect noddy you're taking your anger out on the wrong people, Your financial situation is not the fault of people on welfare of medical cards and very little of what you are taxed goes towards them.

Look elsewhere to find the problem and don't be going on populist rants against easy scapegoats.

Cortina_MK_IV

Chris Martin wrote: »

Huge +1
<snip>
Water tax is there to improve water services, motor tax for roads and to atone for pollution emitted, what the hell is inheritance tax for?

You really believe that?

BorneTobyWilde

UK falls
US falls
France ?
Ire ? We need our Trump , is there such an honest person here, a tell it like it is and fucck the establishment type person. A person who gets rid of double taxes and makes car tax simple and not like rocket science.

BorneTobyWilde

I expect Clarkson will run for Prime Minister within 7 years, and win like Trump did.

eeguy

relax carry on wrote: »

So forget about what it's spent on etc. What is the level of direct taxation people feel is the right amount to pay on earned income? Keep in mind if you are reducing the level of tax intake from direct taxation you need to either increase it somewhere else or reduce state spending to match.

It's not direct taxation, it's seeing some form of benefit from it.

The tax system in this country is set up to directly benefit those who pay nothing and the 1% at the top, those who shout the loudest and those who have friends in Govt.

Meanwhile the people who actually pay the tax to keep the country going get shafted at every opportunity.

Do you think you get good value for all the tax you pay?

Chris Martin

Cortina_MK_IV wrote: »

You really believe that?

Out of all this thread, this is your main gripe?!
It should go towards the roads but without complete transparency, who's to know where it's going. The same can be said about any tax really.
Ireland are miles behind other countries in regards to infrastructure so it's easy and justified to whine about the state of the roads but Motor Tax alone will never be enough to bring them to where they need to be.

Idbatterim

So forget about what it's spent on etc. What is the level of direct taxation people feel is the right amount to pay on earned income? Keep in mind if you are reducing the level of tax intake from direct taxation you need to either increase it somewhere else or reduce state spending to match.

yeah true or do a combo of both, here we always hear the bull**** line "taxation will have to be increased" what a load of ****e, they can cut spending like you suggest... Start with welfare... I think they are setting a dangerous precedent, first of all the water charge fiasco which they have had to back down on and then saying it will have to be be recouped through increased taxation, there are more than one way to skin a cat, no welfare increases next year and for a few years, say thats to compensate for IW funding requirements. Rile them up that way...

Cortina_MK_IV

Nope my main gripe (for over 2 years) is that I don't have a GP. To say I've been paying tax for 37 years and would like a doctor makes it sound like I want it free but I don't. I'll pay, I just would like access to one when needed instead of Dr. Google.

KwackerJack

I agree OP.......You are completely correct.

I was in the post office earlier getting a standing order. Over heard a chap in his early 40's blab on to his female friend in front of him about only being back from Lanzorote and would love another break!!!

Thought nothing of it until he strolls up to the counter and collects him dole plus bouns, 400 odd quid the cashier counted out......and for what, to sit on his hole and go on foreign holidays. He seemed pretty healthy and well able to work!!

I pop to the post office once or twice a week and its the same old banter, I've been here and gone there, I've bought this and that!! How about buy a cheap suit in Penneys and, apply for a poxy job!!

Not only Irish but eastern European, Pakistani, Chinese and the rest who just seem to roll in and milk the system!!


****To get onto ireland you should speak fluent English and have a trade or minimum qualification relating to an industry in Ireland, if not piss off!!****

The working class are paying for all this, plus a crumbling health system and diabolical road / public transport network and what do the working class get......one dental check up every 2 years and a kick in the balls

Chris Martin

Agree healthcare at moment can be much improved, particularly in rural areas where wandering doctors on strict schedules seem to be the routine.
Fortunate to be close enough to a town.
Recent budget makes it look like their pumping loads into HC too.. in reality it's not nearly enough. Poor planning and distribution of money of one of this countries key faults.
Water tax, an idea I'm not 100% against, was forced on the public after crazy money had already been spent on it. No one likes a tax. Less so when it's forced on you. Less again when they threaten to take it from your wages. Ridiculous ways of going around things.

MPFGLB

My sister has emigrated to NZ for a few years . She got a job there and went as her husband has a contract there too as couldnt get work in Ireand

While away she has let her house out through the council...A Lituanian family have moved in , they are having their rent paid for by the council plus are on a medical card as asked my mother about the application
Thing is the 2 families in the houses next door are Lituanian relatives in the same boat and they asked my mother if she knew of another house for rent near by as another family they knew was coming over

The irony of this situation is my ssiter and her husband had ot go to NZ to work to be replaced by people for Lituainia who dont (AFAIK) work or even f they do its still guarantees 550 Euros a month in rent allownace from the government so must be low paid as only one family member from the 3 houses spoke english so potentail for employment is quite low. Also the council has taken the house for them for a year .

I am not trying to single out Lituanians but one of the issues in Britian withe introduction of the living wage it will now make that wage 4 times what the average person can get in Lituainia this is bound to increase immigration in the next few years before the gate closes

IN Ireland the gate looks ot be opening up.Irealnd has a very good welfare system in comparison to most in Europe .... and an open border with the UK

Richard Hillman

The problem is that there are so many lobby groups and sob story peddlers that taxation is only going to go one way. The government may whip 1% of your income tax but will find another way of getting that 1% and then some back off you.

If you are on minimum wage in 2016 and 2017, you were €1 a week better of than the previous year. But with the time value of money and the increase in the cost of living, you are actually worse off than the previous year. And that is without the snakey little taxes like the increase in cigarettes, sugar tax and their alcohol minimum prices.

Then you have the eroding middle classes. You work hard in school, you go to college, you get a good job but for what? You can't afford a house, you can't afford a car, you live in a shoebox apartment for €1300 a month, it costs €110 a month just to get to work on a bus which takes up 3 hours of your day on a return journey which should be half of that. When you pay your rent and bills, you're being told that you better be saving for a pension because there won't be any money left when you retire at 70. You also better have medical insurance because all the money being spend from your taxes on health is for somebody else.

Every single year this gap is tightening, without fail, without address. Where will we be in 20 years time? We will be facing full blown Socialism. Where everybody is the same amount of poor

MPFGLB

Plus I got to say having had to avail of the health service in Ireland with my mother recently.... it is deplorable

Much is said of the NHS in UK but is 100 times better and free at the point of access, MY mother waited 2 days on a trolly in an A/E department in Ireland to be admitted to hospital wiht a very serious illness...hospital would be under fire in UK if that happened ...waits of 8 hours are reported

If I had to pay for the service in Ireland I'd be up in arms... a health service should be free at the point of access , especially GPs

You pay more tax per person and dont have a free (at point of access) health service ...something very wrong there

maregal

KwackerJack wrote: »

Not only Irish but eastern European, Pakistani, Chinese and the rest who just seem to roll in and milk the system!!

****To get onto ireland you should speak fluent English and have a trade or minimum qualification relating to an industry in Ireland, if not piss off!!****

Many people agree with you pal, but moaning online will change nothing. Why didn't you vote Identity Ireland in the last election? They're the only party willing to put Irish people first.

The Draugan

For me it's not so much the actual amount of tax taken it's what you get in return ... i lived in the UK for a while , tax is pretty similar but you don't pay for a GP your rates cover things like bins (at least they did in the area of Birmingham i was) , the NHS includes GP services roads are in top condition, public transport is efficient plentiful and not overpriced, you have top quality broadcasters like the BBC , etc...

Here USC is to pay bank debt nothing else , LPT is to pay bank Debt nothing else ,on top of that you have to pay Bin charges , the roads are sh!t for the most part, The HSE doesn't cover the GP , neither even does your private health insurance which is really only useful for skipping ridiculously long queues , Public transport sucks in Dublin and is pretty much non existent outside , the rail network is limited , old and slow, RTE as a broadcaster is awful other then the late late toy show once a year, the odd Irish away international and the Sunday game would never watch it , wouldn't be arsed with the radio at all , but we do have one of the most generous social welfare systems in Europe not that that's much use.

tayto lover

holyhead wrote: »

Inheritance tax is another load of nonsense. It's like a double taxation as the money used to build up the inheritance was subject to tax in the first place.

So is DIRT Tax.
It's paying tax on the same money again.

KindOfIrish

Noddy Nangle wrote: »

Why is it that I seem to work my boll*x off but yet I have nothing. The middle working class pay too much tax and being honest a political party needs to be formed to look after our needs and not the needs of the many wasters in this country. A Donald Trump like figure if you like ( maybe Michael O Leary). Imagine a country where if you work hard you get rewarded and live a decent lifestyle where you might even have a few quid in your pocket.

A single person on €50k p.a. pays maximum €14K in all direct taxes. It's 28% of gross earnings. Where in the first world countries can you find lower rate?

KwackerJack

KindOfIrish wrote: »

A single person on €50k p.a. pays maximum €14K in all direct taxes. It's 28% of gross earnings. Where in the first world countries can you find lower rate?

I don't think its the actual amount that anyone is concerned about as such.

Its the fact that if you fork out 14k in tax and you are getting nothing for it......crap health system, unreliable transport network, crap roads, no dental or doctor's fees included

So please tell me what does my tax actually do for me??

weldoninhio

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Agree 100 percent with OP> Meanwhile, certain people I know sit on their arse, breed as many kids as they feel like, and get 'paid' each week. Seriously, I heard one of then saying she would buy her new shoes when she gets 'paid' I said I thought you had to earn money to be paid. She didn't get it ..

I used to work in a call centre for a bank. I hated it. But my one little nugget of enjoyment was when people would ring up to see if their "wages" had gone in. I'd check and if wages had gone in I'd say yes. If €188 had gone in I'd say no. Cue panic on the other end of the line and are you sure, wages definitely didn't go in today, no no wages in there today. Ok, I'll have to ring them up and find out what happened.

Only bit of enjoyment I ever got from that job.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

KwackerJack wrote: »

I don't think its the actual amount that anyone is concerned about as such.

Its the fact that if you fork out 14k in tax and you are getting nothing for it......crap health system, unreliable transport network, crap roads, no dental or doctor's fees included

So please tell me what does my tax actually do for me??

OP came across as a tax-whiner more than someone pissed off at the lack of services. He may have a point, I don't know - I don't live in the country any more.

But the question remains: would you prefer lower taxes or better services for the same amount of tax you currently pay?

Not sure Michael O'Leary's going to help. He doesnt; strike me as the kind of guy who would reward you for working hard - more the kind of guy who would try and profit from it. You'd also wind up paying for every little thing on top of the basic fees.

Fireblade77

Deleted User wrote: »

Agree 100 percent with OP> I got my Christmas bonus too , liss than half in my pocket to take home. For this I get up at 5:45 am each day, work a nine hour day and run a house with 2 kids.

Meanwhile, certain people I know sit on their arse, breed as many kids as they feel like, and get 'paid' each week. Seriously, I heard one of then saying she would buy her new shoes when she gets 'paid' I said I thought you had to earn money to be paid. She didn't get it ..


Here's what I would do straight off if I was 'in charge' of Ireland Inc Finances:


child benefit, free medical card etc only for first 2 kids, the rest are at your own expense
single parent allowance only paid if you declare father of child, and he then gets an attachment to his earnings (or his social welfare payment) you breed em, you pay for em.
unemployment benefit cut off after one year UNLESS you are sick, disabled etc. Plenty of jobs out there now


oh and that's just for starters....


I honestly think the mood in the country 1would back such measures, But there is no political party with the backbone to introduce such radical change

How do I vote number 1 for you.

One_Of_Shanks

Richard Hillman wrote: »

The problem is that there are so many lobby groups and sob story peddlers that taxation is only going to go one way. The government may whip 1% of your income tax but will find another way of getting that 1% and then some back off you.

If you are on minimum wage in 2016 and 2017, you were €1 a week better of than the previous year. But with the time value of money and the increase in the cost of living, you are actually worse off than the previous year. And that is without the snakey little taxes like the increase in cigarettes, sugar tax and their alcohol minimum prices.

Then you have the eroding middle classes. You work hard in school, you go to college, you get a good job but for what? You can't afford a house, you can't afford a car, you live in a shoebox apartment for €1300 a month, it costs €110 a month just to get to work on a bus which takes up 3 hours of your day on a return journey which should be half of that. When you pay your rent and bills, you're being told that you better be saving for a pension because there won't be any money left when you retire at 70. You also better have medical insurance because all the money being spend from your taxes on health is for somebody else.

Every single year this gap is tightening, without fail, without address. Where will we be in 20 years time? We will be facing full blown Socialism. Where everybody is the same amount of poor

Excellent post! My thoughts on the matter entirely.

KindOfIrish

KwackerJack wrote: »

I don't think its the actual amount that anyone is concerned about as such.

Its the fact that if you fork out 14k in tax and you are getting nothing for it......crap health system, unreliable transport network, crap roads, no dental or doctor's fees included

So please tell me what does my tax actually do for me??

We have functioning public services, free education, generous social welfare, state pensions and Irish roads and health system are not that bad. If you don't use all that at the moment, there is no guarantee you won't need it in the future.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

KindOfIrish wrote: »

We have functioning public services, free education, generous social welfare, state pensions and Irish roads and health system are not that bad. If you don't use all that at the moment, there is no guarantee you won't need it in the future.

Most of that is open to debate.

BackToWinnipeg

KindOfIrish wrote: »

A single person on €50k p.a. pays maximum €14K in all direct taxes. It's 28% of gross earnings. Where in the first world countries can you find lower rate?

In British Columbia in Canada you'd pay about 10k Euro in tax on the same wage and public transport is about 1/3 what it is here monthly, it's much more reliable and frequent and you can claim most of it back in your tax return. You would pay about 65-70 CAD a month for medicals services plan which is available to everyone permanently working there and the hospital on GPs are free then.

I love Ireland, but I hate the politicians and the sense of entitlement people have. People are tight with money even when they are rich and start to rip people off the first chance they get (food is incredibly expensive here, as is booze, rent shot up, electricity and gas, petrol, motor tax and hotels in Dublin 5 years ago were about 1/3 the price they are now.)


So yeah, Ireland is a bloody rip off and the dick heads that complain when the economy slows down are the first dick heads that will rip you off. I hate about Ireland. It's such a shame and it won't bloody change in our life times I'm afraid.

shesty

The Draugan wrote: »

For me it's not so much the actual amount of tax taken it's what you get in return ... i lived in the UK for a while , tax is pretty similar but you don't pay for a GP your rates cover things like bins (at least they did in the area of Birmingham i was) , the NHS includes GP services roads are in top condition, public transport is efficient plentiful and not overpriced, you have top quality broadcasters like the BBC , etc...

Here USC is to pay bank debt nothing else , LPT is to pay bank Debt nothing else ,on top of that you have to pay Bin charges , the roads are sh!t for the most part, The HSE doesn't cover the GP , neither even does your private health insurance which is really only useful for skipping ridiculously long queues , Public transport sucks in Dublin and is pretty much non existent outside , the rail network is limited , old and slow, RTE as a broadcaster is awful other then the late late toy show once a year, the odd Irish away international and the Sunday game would never watch it , wouldn't be arsed with the radio at all , but we do have one of the most generous social welfare systems in Europe not that that's much use.

Dropping in because I noticed this thread on the Boards Homepage...

This post right here is it. It's not that we have to pay tax and get nothing in return. It's that we have to pay tax, sometimes twice over and get a halfhearted excuse for a public "service" in return, while being told that prices are rising,and more tax is needed at the same time.

Tax funds the HSE. Tax funds the public hospitals. Yet I pay 50eur for my GP, pay 100eur for A&E (yes I understand why), and am asked for my health insurance details on entry to a hospital - which goes into the pockets of the same consultants, doctors and hospital....that is funded by my tax through the HSE.

Tax funds the public transport system. To use it,I have to pay for tickets. Fine. But the price of tickets goes up every year. And the frequency and length of trains decreases. And oh look, more money needed so I can park my car to access the station that is located in the middle of a load of fields, and is now the only station serving two local towns that have had huge building carried out in the during the boom. Did I mention the prices increased again this year?

Tax funds the roads/councils. More tax on owning a car. VRT on the price of the car. Tax on the petrol pump. Roads full of holes, and the council out in December hastily filling the holes with a shovel of tar so they keep the money in next year's budget (while the holes reappear bigger and better than before by some time in - February)

Tax funds the education system - that's fine. But the kids go to school in prefabs. The parents donate money every year to pay for photocopying, trips, classroom resources, you name it, we fund it. Regular fundraising events for anything new needed. More money for books every year.

I could go on.The point we completely seem to miss in this country is not that we pay tax - it's that we pay twice, three times over for EVERYTHING!! And it's dressed up as levies or charges, and we just accept it.:mad: The health system is the biggest joke on the planet. If you have private health insurance, you should have access to private hospitals only. This rubbish of having combined public and private hospitals on all campuses, of having patients in the public system in a bed beside a patient with insurance is a joke. You want to work as a private consultant? Fine. Go to a private hospital or have a private office in your own premises that you have to fund. Not this thing of having an office in a public hospital where you see private patients some days and public patients the rest only some weird arrangement. And I know people say you need insurance to avoid waiting lists, but the point that's being missed is that if insurance did not exist, then everyone would be in the public system (including ALL the medical staff) and there might be some hope of clearing the system up, freeing up beds and doctors slots etc. It would take work and investment but it could be done. By having insurance it's just giving the Government an easy out, like in so many things. They KNOW if the majority of people don't want to wait, they'll just go private. And sure the others don't matter, they can deal with them through a load of campaign one-liners and media statements until everyone forgets about them again.

I'm sorry, I get annoyed. But that's not even the tip of the iceberg. It's a shocking system that needs a huge overhaul, but nobody in power has the guts to take it on because there are too many vested interest groups with the ear of the Government, and they don't want to upset any of them.

Touchee

L1011 wrote: »

Your home which requires council provided services to be of any value. Not going to sell without a road, for starters.

But stamp duty is paid on that as well. What is stamp duty funding so?

At least they could have done away with this tax, althought it is lower over the years when compared to LPT.

LPT should have been introduced for the 2nd property, that is not a principal private residence. LPT should be a tax on the wealthy who own multiple properties, not someone who barely managed to save for a deposit.

I would pay water charges, if there was no risk of the service being privatised and if LPT on PPR was done away with.

BoatMad

BackToWinnipeg wrote: »

In British Columbia in Canada you'd pay about 10k Euro in tax on the same wage and public transport is about 1/3 what it is here monthly, it's much more reliable and frequent and you can claim most of it back in your tax return. You would pay about 65-70 CAD a month for medicals services plan which is available to everyone permanently working there and the hospital on GPs are free then.

I love Ireland, but I hate the politicians and the sense of entitlement people have. People are tight with money even when they are rich and start to rip people off the first chance they get (food is incredibly expensive here, as is booze, rent shot up, electricity and gas, petrol, motor tax and hotels in Dublin 5 years ago were about 1/3 the price they are now.)


So yeah, Ireland is a bloody rip off and the dick heads that complain when the economy slows down are the first dick heads that will rip you off. I hate about Ireland. It's such a shame and it won't bloody change in our life times I'm afraid.

I know we live in a post fact world , but what you say isnt true, you pay more on average tax in Canada

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/canada/canada-counting-the-costs-1.1971730

there no worst moaner in the world then Irishmen about their own country and then theres emigrants

BackToWinnipeg

BoatMad wrote: »

I know we live in a post fact world , but what you say isnt true, you pay more on average tax in Canada

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/canada/canada-counting-the-costs-1.1971730

there no worst moaner in the world then Irishmen about their own country and then theres emigrants

Except it is true because I lived there for a few years.

Pat Mustard

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

But the question remains: would you prefer lower taxes or better services for the same amount of tax you currently pay?

Ideally, I have no problem in paying extra for proper services.

I realise that better services cannot be delivered by the 'half-wits and lunatics' who run this country.

So I would take the money. At least it is realistic about what could be delivered.

And do I accept any responsibility for the 'half-wits and lunatics'?

No, I bloody well don't. I get out and I vote at every election. I vote against governments, I vote against certain parties, I vote against certain policies.

And yet things do not change, insofar as we do not get the government that we want (even though we may get the one that some people think that we deserve).

And why is this?

The reason is because the real decisions are made in relation to the nomination of the candidates by the political parties. And if you are not a member of a political party for a certain period, you don't get to choose who will be nominated.

BoatMad

shesty wrote: »

Dropping in because I noticed this thread on the Boards Homepage...

This post right here is it. It's not that we have to pay tax and get nothing in return. It's that we have to pay tax, sometimes twice over and get a halfhearted excuse for a public "service" in return, while being told that prices are rising,and more tax is needed at the same time.

yup , things get more expensive each year , havent you noticed

Tax funds the HSE. Tax funds the public hospitals. Yet I pay 50eur for my GP, pay 100eur for A&E (yes I understand why), and am asked for my health insurance details on entry to a hospital - which goes into the pockets of the same consultants, doctors and hospital....that is funded by my tax through the HSE.

the 100 is a deterrent, GPs receive no Tax support , hospitals are free ( try that in the USA)

Tax funds the public transport system. To use it,I have to pay for tickets. Fine. But the price of tickets goes up every year. And the frequency and length of trains decreases. And oh look, more money needed so I can park my car to access the station that is located in the middle of a load of fields, and is now the only station serving two local towns that have had huge building carried out in the during the boom. Did I mention the prices increased again this year?

Tax DOES NOT totally fund the public transport system, it only partially funds it, other wise it would be free and the whole nation would be trying to get on a bus or a train !!!!

Tax funds the roads/councils. More tax on owning a car. VRT on the price of the car. Tax on the petrol pump. Roads full of holes, and the council out in December hastily filling the holes with a shovel of tar so they keep the money in next year's budget (while the holes reappear bigger and better than before by some time in - February)

The Tax from owning a car helps pay for roads, whats the big deal

Tax funds the education system - that's fine. But the kids go to school in prefabs. The parents donate money every year to pay for photocopying, trips, classroom resources, you name it, we fund it. Regular fundraising events for anything new needed. More money for books every year.

simple PAY MORE TAX , if you like

I could go on.The point we completely seem to miss in this country is not that we pay tax - it's that we pay twice, three times over for EVERYTHING!! And it's dressed up as levies or charges,

simply not true

and we just accept it.:mad: The health system is the biggest joke on the planet. If you have private health insurance, you should have access to private hospitals only.

in a small country with a small population, it would not be feasible to build and run large full trauma private hospitals. Hence the nett outcome would be a complete fallback onto the public system. private healthcare in ireland is simply a way of offloading non urgent elective medicine away from the public system that cant cope . Its not a true private system, thats unsustainable

This rubbish of having combined public and private hospitals on all campuses, of having patients in the public system in a bed beside a patient with insurance is a joke.

The jokes on the private insurance holder, who gets absolulty no advantage in getting a bed in a public hospital !!!!

You want to work as a private consultant? Fine. Go to a private hospital or have a private office in your own premises that you have to fund. Not this thing of having an office in a public hospital where you see private patients some days and public patients the rest only some weird arrangement. And I know people say you need insurance to avoid waiting lists, but the point that's being missed is that if insurance did not exist, then everyone would be in the public system (including ALL the medical staff) and there might be some hope of clearing the system up, freeing up beds and doctors slots etc. It would take work and investment but it could be done.

nonsense , you'd just break the system completely and people would die , policy tends to wilt as people die

By having insurance it's just giving the Government an easy out, like in so many things. They KNOW if the majority of people don't want to wait, they'll just go private. And sure the others don't matter, they can deal with them through a load of campaign one-liners and media statements until everyone forgets about them again.

no it was designed to try and offer people options , we live in a capitalistic consumer society after all.

I'm sorry, I get annoyed. But that's not even the tip of the iceberg. It's a shocking system that needs a huge overhaul, but nobody in power has the guts to take it on because there are too many vested interest groups with the ear of the Government, and they don't want to upset any of them.

perhaps you feel better after venting , cause that it is, its certainly not factual or thought through

super_furry

http://www.publicpolicy.ie/where-does-your-tax-go/

Is really interesting. I've worked fulltime for 16 years, never been a time when I haven't worked and I give €2,003.22 a year to pay pensions, €1,502.98 to pay dole and €1,684.87 a year to pay for hospitals.

Over those 16 years, I've probably paid at an estimated €250,000 tax and have absolutely nothing to show for it. I broke my wrist last year and had to spend €750 privately because I would have been waiting 36 hours to be seen by the hospital I paid €1,684.87 to fund last year.

I don't mind paying tax as a rule, I just feel like I get nothing for it.

BoatMad

I don't mind paying tax as a rule, I just feel like I get nothing for it.

You are funding the roads you walk and drive on, the education services for you ( or others children ) , support services for the needy , the police , and zillions of other thing that go into a functioning society ( libraries, parks, etc etc , ad nauseam ) You get to live in a nice wealthy 1st world country as a benefit , thanks for your tax contributions

PS you pension is way too low !!!

Cortina_MK_IV

BoatMad wrote: »

You are funding the roads you walk and drive on, the education services for you ( or others children ) , support services for the needy , the police , and zillions of other thing that go into a functioning society ( libraries, parks, etc etc , ad nauseam ) You get to live in a nice wealthy 1st world country as a benefit , thanks for your tax contributions

PS you pension is way too low !!!

I hope you are a WUM.

BoatMad

BoatMad wrote: »

.............

PS you pension is way too low !!!

He's referring to his PRSI contribution.

BoatMad

Augeo wrote: »

He's referring to his PRSI contribution.

which is not primarily for pensions so , why did he say it was

tommyhayes1989

Never really considered the annoyance of paying tax or where it goes until very recently. Of course I always had the same armchair politician gripes as everyone else, but never thought too much about it. Now you can only take me at my word, but I have never claimed or received anything from the state in terms of healthcare or refunds or the like. Recently went to apply for rent allowance as my landlord had upped the rent in our house, as is her right. We were denied, on the basis I am working full time. I have two children and a partner to take care off and now I've had to move from my home back to my parents because I work too much, but don't earn enough for rent? I have an Undergraduate Degree and a Masters Degree and this is what I get? I genuinely would be better off not working, I would get my house for free and pick up some side jobs for cash. The two biggest problems in this country at the minute are the welfare system and healthcare.