The inability to work a small number of hours across a week – which is what most employers want in part time work – is especially stupid and always has been. It absolutely is a disincentive for people to get work. Many couldn’t afford to live.
[removed]
TLDR
If I’m on €39,999 per year and I get paid an extra €1 I will pay 20¢ in tax and be 80¢ better off.
If I’m on €40,000 per year and I get paid an extra €1 I will pay 40¢ in tax and be 60¢ better off.
If I’m on €13,000 per year and I get paid an extra €1, I will lose USC exception and have to pay USC on all of my income.
I’ll be **€80 worse off**.
If I earn 80k and get a 10k raise. I keep 4800 of it, the government gets to keep more of it than I do.
This is the big issue.
We tax things all the time as a disincentive, but as soon as it comes to income tax suddenly we’re supposed to believe it’s not a disincentive at all and people will be as eager to get a pay rise that will be taxed at over 50% than one taxed much lower. It’s good that people work and contribute to the system, and it’s good that people upskill and look to progress. If tax policy is a barrier to either of those things it’s counterproductive.
Replacing some of income tax with land tax would help
Tax tax tax
Remember when they were thinking of getting people on Job seekers to do community work to “earn” their money but then decided against it because it was too much hassle?
Good times.
I put up a spare room to lodgers some weekends. The rate of tax absolutely disincentives me.
The medical card retention cliff edge in particular needs to be remedied, as it serves as a disincentive for long term unemployed and disabled people to take up the offer of short term employment, or (especially relevant to disabled people) a job they are unsure will work out.
If you have been unemployed or in receipt of illness/disability payments for an **unbroken** period of more than twelve months, you are entitled to keep your Medical Card for three years after returning to employment regardless of your income. Any break in that twelve month period renders you ineligible.
A person becomes unemployed in January. They take up an offer of two weeks work in a seasonal business in July, and find full time employment the following February. They lose their medical card immediately as a result, but had they not taken that temporary job in July they would have kept it for three years after returning to work.
To make matters even worse, if a person who has already qualified to keep their medical card on retention becomes unemployed again within the three year period, they lose their medical card immediately on becoming employed again unless they were unemployed for another full year.
Clearly there has to be some restriction, otherwise it would be possible for anyone to obtain a permanent medical card by spending one week unemployed every three years. But “twelve months unbroken, no exceptions” doesn’t seem like the best way to do things.
The tax isn’t a problem. The services we (don’t) get is.
12 comments
It’s all about screwing the little guy
Great. So what are they going to do about it?
The inability to work a small number of hours across a week – which is what most employers want in part time work – is especially stupid and always has been. It absolutely is a disincentive for people to get work. Many couldn’t afford to live.
[removed]
TLDR
If I’m on €39,999 per year and I get paid an extra €1 I will pay 20¢ in tax and be 80¢ better off.
If I’m on €40,000 per year and I get paid an extra €1 I will pay 40¢ in tax and be 60¢ better off.
If I’m on €13,000 per year and I get paid an extra €1, I will lose USC exception and have to pay USC on all of my income.
I’ll be **€80 worse off**.
If I earn 80k and get a 10k raise. I keep 4800 of it, the government gets to keep more of it than I do.
This is the big issue.
We tax things all the time as a disincentive, but as soon as it comes to income tax suddenly we’re supposed to believe it’s not a disincentive at all and people will be as eager to get a pay rise that will be taxed at over 50% than one taxed much lower. It’s good that people work and contribute to the system, and it’s good that people upskill and look to progress. If tax policy is a barrier to either of those things it’s counterproductive.
Replacing some of income tax with land tax would help
Tax tax tax
Remember when they were thinking of getting people on Job seekers to do community work to “earn” their money but then decided against it because it was too much hassle?
Good times.
I put up a spare room to lodgers some weekends. The rate of tax absolutely disincentives me.
The medical card retention cliff edge in particular needs to be remedied, as it serves as a disincentive for long term unemployed and disabled people to take up the offer of short term employment, or (especially relevant to disabled people) a job they are unsure will work out.
If you have been unemployed or in receipt of illness/disability payments for an **unbroken** period of more than twelve months, you are entitled to keep your Medical Card for three years after returning to employment regardless of your income. Any break in that twelve month period renders you ineligible.
A person becomes unemployed in January. They take up an offer of two weeks work in a seasonal business in July, and find full time employment the following February. They lose their medical card immediately as a result, but had they not taken that temporary job in July they would have kept it for three years after returning to work.
To make matters even worse, if a person who has already qualified to keep their medical card on retention becomes unemployed again within the three year period, they lose their medical card immediately on becoming employed again unless they were unemployed for another full year.
Clearly there has to be some restriction, otherwise it would be possible for anyone to obtain a permanent medical card by spending one week unemployed every three years. But “twelve months unbroken, no exceptions” doesn’t seem like the best way to do things.
The tax isn’t a problem. The services we (don’t) get is.