The Government (of Ireland) are on the verge of publishing their most frugal budget to date. Cuts must be made, everybody knows that. And we were all prepared for some drastic measures to be taken. But its still a massively uncomfortable pill to swallow. A great big chunk of Toblerone pretty much. And its the same every time a proverbial shit hits a proverbial fan in this blasted country. They make a balls of it by taking their eye off the ball for a few years, and then the entire place is fucked. You’d swear they wanted us to leave!
So customary are Irish governments with having to impose such ‘austerity measures’ (read as ‘We Fucked Up Taxes) that they have the process of preparing the Irish people for a Budget (capital B there) down to a fine art. They say ‘Oh, well we have to cut here! And here! And a bit here! Sorry, but we must! Austerity measures!’. And then they send out some weasel-ish scapegoat on the news to tell the people that they’re only going to make 9 out of the 10 cuts they promised. And we all breathe a sigh of relief, because that 1 cut we avoided was a tax on drink and cigarettes.
But what I see coming in this budget is a joke. ‘Universal household charge’. If you managed to get a house for a ridiculous price during the boom, and you paid the mortgage or paid up front, they’re going to tax you for it now. After you pay a fuck-tonne for it. While I’m not sure if the tax is only for people who have paid off their mortgage/bought the house without a mortgage (a tax on those currently struggling to pay a mortgage would be just a little bit much; they’re not complete animals) but I presume it is. I don’t necessarily agree with taxing the rich because they’re rich. If someone was lucky enough to buy a house and pay off the mortgage (which has tax on it already, lest we forget) and indeed pay the other taxes along with that then that house is theirs. I know we all pay PAYE, VAT, and a whole other array of taxes every day, but surely the Government turning around and saying ‘Actually, we’re going to need you to pay us some money if you want to live in your own house’ is a bit Mafia? Or have I got the wrong end of the shit-laden stick? Perhaps. But can you blame me when this government is being as vague as ever?? No. You can’t.
Later home-dawgs!
