Estonian Ambassador to Ireland Kristi Karelsohn, Lucinda Creighton TD (right) and Eddie Hobbs.
This morning.
Renua launched its 23 per cent flat tax plan proposals with a presentation of the experience of the rate in Estonia, among three Baltic states that have a fixed marginal rate.
While the appeal to high earners is obvious how will a Renua flat tax affect the most vulnerable in society?
Via Renua:
By increasing consumption, increasing wealth and providing a real incentive for people to get off social welfare, seek out a job and become economically self-reliant.
Not only are welfare-driven poverty traps eradicated under a flat tax, but minimum wage earners will be much better off by taking on additional hours of overtime, or moving from part-time to full-time work.
What our proposal does is offer a simple way to organically increase economic growth in the short, medium and longer term. Additionally, in the short-term the transition to a flat tax will provide an economic stimulus of over €3bn into the domestic economy (over a full fiscal year). People will feel the reduction in their weekly or monthly payslips and help commence the process of driving domestic growth on the high street and elsewhere.
A flat tax benefits everyone at lower income levels by creating the opportunity to work for everyone who wants to work.
It will damage the black market by making people more tax compliant.
It will reduce the number of capital-owners who locate and pay taxes overseas to avoid our punitive rates of tax here, and it will free up Irish people’s income, thereby increasing our rate of consumption.
As a society, we believe in, and defend vigorously, a flat tax of 12.5% on corporations. It works, it is simple, it is straightforward, and the flat tax variant of this should be applied to our personal incomes.
Fight!
Renua Ireland
Alternatively: Finland is going to pay all its citizens £573 a month (hungertv.com)
Basic Income Ireland