2 days Ago
I’m a big fan of The Sopranos and one of my favourite episodes, “Bust Out”, comes to mind when I watch US president Donald Trump shake down the whole world, including or rather especially his own people with what he calls “tariffs”. Essentially Tony Soprano has a friend that likes to gamble and unfortunately he has run up some debts to mob. So, Tony takes a stake in the business as a form of repayment.
Naturally the relationship quickly deteriorates into an exploitative one and ends with the business in ruins and Tony’s old pal in bankruptcy. Ireland took a gamble with Big Tech and big pharma and those bets paid off handsomely, until they didn’t. And right now Tony, sorry, Mr Trump wants a piece of our winnings for himself.
We are not exactly like poor old Tony’s friend because we didn’t actually have a bad hand at the poker table. In fact we still hold four aces (Google, Meta, Apple and Intel). If we fold we lose, if we call Tony’s bluff, sorry again, Mr Trump’s bluff, we might still lose because just like the Mafia, the Trump administration doesn’t believe in playing by the rules of the game.
Liberation Day will be remembered by traders as “Liquidation Day” and as I write you this letter on a sweltering Saturday night from a condo in Bangkok, Thailand, I can’t help but feeling another “Black Monday” is just around the corner. Welcome to the New World of Disorder. Michael Coffey, Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6w Government must avoid knee-jerk reactions in this challenging economy Last Wednesday, in the late evening in Europe, world leaders waited for the tariff edicts of world king, US president Donald Trump.
Since his “enthronement” he has purloined the narrative on world affairs including wars, trade, economics, media and even the internal affairs of nation states. Mr Trump has exposed the fragility, insecurity and ineffectiveness of Europe and other states, which through world trade and mismanagement allowed themselves to become dependent. Ireland, for its part, supported foreign direct investment (FDI), mainly from the US, over and above indigenous business and its people.
The reaction to the Trump tariff diktats is to warn of loss of employment, reduced economic growth and fear of recession. The calls for increased business support, increased unemployment support and austerity measures have already manifested themselves in government reaction to tariffs, in the face of irrational fear of a depression. The knee-jerk reactions and fear engendering from our Government is misplaced and rather than trying to prove their relevance, (Tánaiste Simon Harris goes to Washington), our Government should trust the wisdom of business, both indigenous and FDI, and the citizens.
In this changing world, it is time for the Irish Government to implement policies which empower, unify and support its citizens to create a resilient, just and sustainable society. Hugh McDermott, Dromahair, Co Leitrim Honesty from Brent Pope about his mental health is so refreshing to hear I would like to compliment Brent Pope’s answers to the questions posed to him in Saturday’s magazine (‘I have seen so many lives destroyed by what it means to be a man. Why can’t we cry when something moves us?’, Weekend , Irish Independent , April 2).
In this time of low standards in so much of society, Pope’s answers were just so honest and thoughtful, not afraid to outline the weaknesses in his own personal life and the struggles he has to overcome on a daily basis. He still possesses such lovely values and wants to replicate the type of person his father was. When he talks about not being able to sleep, he empathises with women suffering a similar fate.
When asked who he would like to have a drink with, his answer is “all the friends he has lost”. Now that is a real friend. Well written, Mr Pope, and I wish you the very best of mental health.
Donough O Reilly, Kilmacud, Co Dublin Property tax and BIK are ludicrous and unfair levies – and should be rescinded Tax. The mere sound of the word is enough to bring on a shudder. However, tax is now part of our lives and unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
That old Benjamin Franklin maxim, “In this world nothing can be certain, except death and taxes” remains as relevant today as it did more than 200 years ago. I wonder if Franklin knew that his words would be so prescient. Taxes are here to stay right enough.
But two of the huge range of taxes we currently pay in Ireland, really get up my nose. Property tax being the first. In my case, as in so many others, I have paid a mortgage for over 30 years.
Obviously, it was my choice to buy a house and strap my family to payments throughout that time. And often we did without luxuries like holidays and replacement house furnishings to service that debt. We pay bin charges, USC, income tax, home insurance, Vat on almost everything, and more.
My mortgage ended recently but the tax goes on. Where is the justification for an ongoing tax on my property? What am I actually getting in return? Does someone come round to touch up our paintwork or cut the grass? No, they don’t. So why am I paying this asinine tax? I’m paying, so dimwitted politicians and senior civil servants can plug holes in other areas they have grossly mismanaged.
We are carrying the can for incompetence, pure and simple. The second bee in my bonnet is Benefit in Kind (BIK). This tax is frankly ludicrous.
I refer to the company car scenario. Currently, if, say, a salesperson receives a car from their company to get to customers and subsequently brings that car home, then that person is liable to pay BIK. The Government’s take is that the vehicle is available to that person when they’re not working.
Therefore, it’s a benefit and furthermore, taxable. Well, I’ve been a salesman for more than 40 years and there is one thing I can attest to. If I spend five days driving that car, the last thing I want to do at the weekend is to go for a spin.
A carpenter on a building site asks to loan a drill and a spirit level to put a shelf up. His wish is granted, and therefore he receives a benefit as he doesn’t have to go and buy these items. Is this transaction taxed? Of course not.
If an office worker brings home their laptop and watches movies on it, is this taxed? No it’s not. We as a nation, should stand together and demand that these punitive taxes be rescinded. Eamon Kearney, Donaghamede, Dublin.
