Here is an uplifting story from the Bundesliga, of all places. First the Germans play attractive football in 2006, and now this. It is all very unsettling.
Right, back to the Cup Final.
Month: November 2009
When addressing the issue of raising income taxes, two objections tend to come up. The first is that the combined marginal tax rate (including PRSI and levies) is already up to 54% (see page 161 of the Commission on Taxation Report) and this marginal tax rate kicks in at fairly low incomes. Further increases in this marginal tax rate are likely to trigger increased tax avoidance and can also have negative side effects in terms of work incentives.
The second objection is that we don’t want to raise taxes on low earners because they already don’t make much money and we have to be careful about not creating poverty traps in which people are better off earning unemployment benefit than working (Suzanne Kelly’s Irish Times article on this presented some interesting calculations.)
One way to address these objections is to introduce a flax tax with a large exemption limit. This would keep the lower paid out of the tax net and keep marginal tax rates from reaching dangerously high levels. But this approach could raise additional revenue, essentially because it would abolish the 20% tax band.
I’ve written about the Green New Deal before. Here’s my main points in a nutshell:
- Stimulating renewable energy creates jobs in the renewable energy sector.
- Stimulating renewable energy destroys jobs in the non-renewable energy sector.
- Renewable energy is more expensive than non-renewable energy. Stimulating renewable energy therefore reduces competitiveness. This slows down economic growth and job creation.
- 2+3>1, so stimulating renewable energy destroys more jobs than it creates.
- The jobs created depend on subsidies and other forms of government protection.
- There is little chance that Ireland will ever become a net exporter of energy at a significant scale. Anything we can do with wave and wind, the Scots can do too, and they will always be closer to the market.
- There is little change that Ireland will ever become a net exporter of intellectual property on the renewable energy generation. Our current strenghts in R&D do not match the required skills, and countries that do have the required skills already are developing new energy technologies as well.
Why does this bear repeating? Well, Labour just promised 80,000 jobs while Commins et al. just reconfirmed the negative impact of energy taxes on employment.
Minister Gormley just released a 1232 page review of waste policy. The press release is short and vague, but it does announce an increase of the landfill levy to €75 per tonne in 2012. It’s €15/t now, so that’s a 400% increase. The average price at the landfill gate is about €140/t. This will go up to €200/t, a 43% increase. Curtis et al. show that the effect on the volume of waste is small.
The press release also announces an incineration levy of €20-38/t. I do not know the details of the contract between Dublin City Council and Coventa/Dong, so I do not know whether its Dublin taxpayers or C/D shareholders who will be paying the annual €12-24 mln.
The summary report has a number of recommendations:
- More waste separation at source (7 bins for you), and improved collection of recyclables from homes
- Nonlinear waste charges applied at the county level (i.e., you will pay if your neighbours have too much waste)
- Stringent targets for recycling (we won’t be soccer champions, but we’ll beat the world on this)
- A ban on inter-county waste trade (this complies with WTO rules)
And this will of course cut emissions, create jobs, and save money.
A more detailed assessment will follow shortly.
Question for the readership: has Thierry Henry provided a boost to the Irish economy, by ensuring that the Irish football team (and the travelling band of supporters) will not be in South Africa next summer?