Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy Human Rights in Ireland >>
Porsche Scraps Electric Car Targets as Demand Slumps Tue Jul 23, 2024 19:43 | Will Jones Porsche has scrapped its sales targets for EVs amid a slump in demand. A previous goal of 80% by 2030 has been watered down and the company now says sales will depend on uptake and how the technology develops.
The post Porsche Scraps Electric Car Targets as Demand Slumps appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
?Mission-Driven? Government is the Antithesis of Liberty Tue Jul 23, 2024 17:30 | Dr David McGrogan Labour is "mission-driven", says Keir Starmer. But the last thing anyone should want is a Government with a mission, says David McGrogan. That's because a Government with a mission needs conscripts. That's you and me.
The post “Mission-Driven” Government is the Antithesis of Liberty appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Victory! Hospitals That Brought Back Mask Mandates Backtrack After Complaints Tue Jul 23, 2024 15:30 | Dr Gary Sidley A victory in the mask wars! Two hospital providers that brought back mask mandates have backtracked and scrapped them following complaints from Daily Sceptic readers and Smile Free supporters.
The post Victory! Hospitals That Brought Back Mask Mandates Backtrack After Complaints appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Read it and Weep: The BBC Journalists Taking Home Six Figure Salaries Courtesy of the Licence Fee Pa... Tue Jul 23, 2024 13:45 | Will Jones Read it and weep: the list of the BBC journalists taking home six figure salaries courtesy of the licence fee payer. Disgraced presenter Huw Edwards came top with £475k despite being off air for nine months of the year.
The post Read it and Weep: The BBC Journalists Taking Home Six Figure Salaries Courtesy of the Licence Fee Payer appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
David Lammy: The Foreign Secretary Who Called Trump ?a Racist KKK and Nazi Sympathiser? and Refuses ... Tue Jul 23, 2024 12:43 | Peter Harris Britain's new Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, is on record calling Donald Trump "a racist KKK and Nazi sympathiser" and has refused to apologise. This is clearly going to be a problem, says Peter Harris.
The post David Lammy: The Foreign Secretary Who Called Trump “a Racist KKK and Nazi Sympathiser” and Refuses to Apologise appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Netanyahu soon to appear before the US Congress? It will be decisive for the suc... Thu Jul 04, 2024 04:44 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°93 Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:49 | en
Will Israel succeed in attacking Lebanon and pushing the United States to nuke I... Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:40 | en
Will Netanyahu launch tactical nuclear bombs (sic) against Hezbollah, with US su... Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:09 | en
Will Israel provoke a cataclysm?, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jun 25, 2024 06:59 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
Regressive Taxation
national |
anti-capitalism |
opinion/analysis
Tuesday June 15, 2010 14:07 by Gavin Gleeson - Workers Solidarity Movement - Lucy Parsons (Personal Capacity)
Progressive taxation is a taxation system which seeks a higher tax rate for higher incomes. It is a relatively common feature in the western democracies. In Ireland however, its implementation is almost entirely nominal. Progressive taxation is a taxation system which seeks a higher tax rate for higher incomes. It is a relatively common feature in the western democracies. In Ireland however, its implementation is almost entirely nominal.
There are several reasons that progressive taxation has been advanced. Among the most widely cited reason for progressive taxation is the ability to pay. People making very little money find a 10% change in income much more burdensome than people who make vastly more money. In addition to this there are other important benefits. More equitable wealth distribution tends to lead to less crime [1]. In addition, a society with vast differentials in wealth is very unlikely to have a healthy democracy, as wealth allows a message to be amplified, through lobbying and other means. In addition, those with the most wealth also find the most benefit from state services. One need only look at the examples of NAMA and the lengths to which the Irish state has gone to funnel public funds to protect the wealthy. It only stands to reason that such VIP service should at least incur a higher tax rate.
Capitalism, by its very nature, is at odds with any attempt to stop wealth condensation [2] - that is - the accumulation of wealth into the hands of the few. It's very dynamics ensure that any success gives leverage to further successes, whether those success are accidental or not. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, isn't just a slogan, but a feature of even completely "fair" games [3].
Simply giving money to the state through taxation isn't really progressive in itself either, since they state is not really in the hands of the public, but is quite close to the interests of the bankers, the property developers and their attachés in government.
However, currently the entire public service is under attack and deep cuts are intended across the board, including buses, pools, pitches, education, social welfare and many other things important to our quality of life. The reason of course is that there isn't enough money to go around. While the bankers and land developers seem to manage quite a lot of money from the public coffers, the rest of us are being put out into the cold.
So how much are the rich paying? A report published by the Department of Finance[4] sought to find out the answer to this question. The results of a survey of 214 individuals making €500,000 show just how little tax is actually paid. The average effective tax rate was 20.08%. This is essentially the same tax rate as a single PAYE worker pays on income up to €36,400. The report details that of the people surveyed in the income band 250k-300k the effective tax rate was only 5%! Hardly a system of progressive taxation.
The media and politicians usually talk in terms of marginal tax rates - rates that make the actual tax rates paid by the rich sound vastly higher than they actually are. Eamonn Gilmore of the Labour Party claimed on RTE that the marginal tax rate for the rich should be raised to 48% [5]. How much this increase in marginal rates would translate into actual effective tax rate is difficult to determine. Perhaps he should have said that they should pay at least as much as a normal tax payer!
The history of economics shows us that the periodic financial crises that the private sector encounters will not go away. Neither then will the subsequent attendant crises in the public sector when the private sectors house of cards collapses. Every time it happens we'll see the rich claiming that public services must go. However, the next time you hear them claim that they can't find the money anywhere, tell them to take a deeper look into their own pockets first.
[1] http://psych.mcmaster.ca/dalywilson/iiahr2001.pdf
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_condensation
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler's_ruin
[4] http://www.finance.gov.ie/documents/publications/report...9.pdf
[5] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br7LNKInYGw
|
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (1 of 1)
Jump To Comment: 1Practical ground. When I originally kicked the RHP into stuttering its wo/manifesto I suggested that if we are debating a minimum wage(as was happening in the late 80's) it made no sense without a corollary maximum personal disposable income.I threw out an 8 to 1 ratio as a starter for discussion, accepting the capitalist argument that incentive has its place.The silence left me permanently deaf. I also think that rather than fixed percentages an inverted sliding scale ,by which the more your nominal bullion expanded to reflect your economic 'productivity' the more of the INCREASE was actually subtracted, thus leaving the ego satisfaction of 'richer than thou' for those so inclined, without unbalancing the social leverage of individual democratic rights.