Aidan Regan pointing out that Fine Gael’s tax cut proposal was not for the ‘squeezed-middle’ but rather the top third of income earners – Inside Politics podcast 07/06/2023
Aidan Regan pointing out that Fine Gael’s tax cut proposal was not for the ‘squeezed-middle’ but rather the top third of income earners – Inside Politics podcast 07/06/2023
by u/SubstantialFeel in ireland
15 comments
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ZiTMPCiPRdgtvwrwApTuh?si=d8100232076c4db9
Good points made
48k disposable would mean 4k per month which is around 70k plus which is rightly pointed out to be top 20 per cent of the country
CSO has mean around 44k gross which is a lot less than 48k net per year, closer to 30k net per year
I’m in the top 10% of earners in the State(apparently) and I’m definitely part of the squeezed middle
“middle of our voter demographic” is what they meant to say.
Give up yer aul facts and logic and just keep the recovery going
The squeezed middle was never meant to describe middle earners. The middle stands for the middle class who bear a large chunk of of the tax burden.
The middle class also tend to be our top tax payers as the really rich go tax non dom when they hit a certain income level.
The thing is that group is cut off from a lot of help. No medical card, rent payments, supplementary support etc.
Obviously don’t want to be relying on handouts but they seen to get shafted and any family with high rent, kids in creche and car payments could be struggling.
He also says it *is* the squeezed middle and points out that the middle can range from 30k to 90k roughly.
The top third of income earners but that ignores age. In the real world, families in their 40s don’t compare themselves with youngsters just out of college. If you adjust for age, the squeezed middle is a very real concept, especially for renters.
Using household income isn’t exactly a great metric. We have so many people living in house shares or with parents in the country that is skews the data.
A household with an income of 200k a year sounds rich and that income puts it in the top 2% of households. However, 4 people earning 50k a year each, house sharing in Dublin, Cork, Galway etc isn’t exatly what you think of when you refer to the rich.
Our household income is over €200k per year – 2 adults, no kids, mortgage in Dublin
Would I like to receive more favourable tax cuts? Of course, but I’m not a prick and would prefer those needing it more to receive it.
Those earning between €30-60k really need to be seeing more of their salary in their net pay. What seems like a decent wage at that level is often ravaged by tax and essential costs, such as rent because they can’t afford to save and get a mortgage with reasonable payments.
The government also needs to spend the tax intake it receives much more effectively than it currently is, but that’s another topic altogether.
We seemed to have reached the point where the people paying most of the tax are being squeezed for everything by those who don’t pay tax. No social welfare state can survive this – the basic unwritten contract is that if you work and pay taxes you will do well, if you fall on hard times you will be looked after – it’s not work and pay taxes and you will end up with exactly the same as someone who doesn’t.
We had something similar a few decades ago, and the PDs emerged as the dominant political force as people were fed up with it. Too much tax on workers, no incentive for them or their kids to get a decent job.
Wow big surpirse the goverment aren’t looking after the poeple? That’s crazy, oh theyre looking out for their wealthy friends? wild
What was the point he made there, he just talks about median and mean household income being around 50k and then says FG are actually targeting the top 20% or whatever, how does he conclude that then?! Sure aren’t FG on about increasing the tax band from 40,000 to 45,000 or something, how is that not targeting those in the median and mean households that he just mentioned?
Can someone take one’s housing situation when calculating things like that?
House owner on 70k is completely different thing than market rate tenant on 70k!! And both will pay exactly same tax.
Squeezed middle are people on relatively good wages, not qualifying for HAP, but paying huge market rate rent due to completely broken rental market. Your taxes are literally used against you.