Revenue officials admitted they will hit 15,000 people who have small occupational pensions with a higher tax bill.

But the tax hit will only be temporary because these people are exempt.

That means the taxman will take the money — for a while — and then return it to the pensioners.

The bizarre decision raises serious questions about Revenue’s handling of what has now become a fiasco.

However, the reality for thousands of elderly people now is confusion and a sense of alienation, according to Pensions Ombudsman Paul Kenny.

 

Pensioners Told To Pay Tax They Do Not Owe (Charlie Weston, Irish Independent)

(Photocall Ireland)

From Fatescapes: a Photoshopped image series by visual artist Pavel Maria Smejkal.

The originals are: Napalm Girl, Tank Man, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, Starvation in Sudan, and The Execution of Nguyen Van Lém.

via

IRELAND CLEARLY needs further financial assistance on “non-market terms”, the chief economist with Citigroup, Willem Buiter, said during a visit to Dublin.

The former member of the monetary policy committee of the Bank of England said the most attractive option from Ireland’s point of view would be a reduction on the interest it pays on an outstanding €30 billion in promissory notes, issued mostly to deal with the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank.

OR we could ‘restructure sovereign debt’, he suggested.

OR we could ‘revoke the government guarantee on bank debt’, he posited.

OR we could ‘consolidate all our monthly outgoings into one easy, manageable payment’, he might at least have added for the laugh.

State Needs Further Bailout, Says Bank Expert (Irish Times)

pic

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBOqLxzGTx8&feature=player_embedded

Full quote:

I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means if you don’t like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.

 

Presidential.

New Hampshire Primary – Live (Guardian)

Alan Barratt (above), an economist formerly with the ESRI was on Marian Finucane yesterday on RTE R1 and spoke of his experiences at the state-run think tank.

Barrett: “My own most recent example say of ruffling feathers is..I think it was the second last commentary that I wrote which was in the latter part of 2009. Anyway, the years start to blend. But I remember, that was a particularly sensitive time because it was close to the bailout happening. And we had a line in the commentary report, more than a line, we had an argument that we were worried that the austerity programme was too regressive and maybe thoughts should be given to extending it somewhat.

“Now ..the Department of Finance did call the Director of the ESRI to say they were uncomfortable about this. The director and the Secretary General of the Department of Finance had a conversation. The Director of the ESRI called me in to say ‘Look we’ve had this conversation’. She asked me was I convinced that I could stand over what I was saying. I said ‘yes’. She said ‘fine’. That was the end of the story and I have to say I walked out of the office that day thinking ‘This is a pretty good place to work’. OK? Because in spite of the fact that it was a very, very tense situation. I was being told that ‘As long as you can stand over what you’re saying, that’s OK’.”

So, the then head of the Department of Finance, David Doyle (Kevin Cardiff’s predecessor), picks a bone with the ESRI for it being critical of the Govt/Dept of Finance’s outlook on austerity measures.

Could this be the same David Doyle (above) who blindly signed off on Michael Fingleton’s loan book at Irish Nationwide? From Matt Cooper’s How Ireland Really Went Bust:

Yup.

(Photocall Ireland)
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