The tax on cigarettes has gone up in Ireland. It's expensive to light up, and it is hoped that the cost will drive some to quit. Therefore, smoking will become a nasty habit of the wealthy. You can afford to smoke? Ah, you must be riding on the pig's back.
How much carbon dioxide does your car emit? We want to bring down the amount of carbon in our footprint, so what better way than to tax the public into compliance. If you buy a new Land Rover after 1 July, you'll pay a premium, on top of the premium you pay for the privilege of driving a Land Rover. In general, the SUVs will be taxed at a higher level because they spew more CO2 than that little Fiat sputtering down the road.
Who will buy big hulking behemoth cars when there's a tax to be paid for their CO2? The rich, of course, who can afford it. And those who would appear rich and can't really afford it, but want to show off anyway.
The arguing and fighting are starting up already in homes across the island. He wants to save a few pennies and get a coffee pot of a vehicle, but she thinks of what the neighbors would say and they have to get something bigger and dirtier. They'll think we're failures, she'll cry, and in the end he'll give in because everyone cares about what the neighbors think of them.
New legislation to tax CO2 emissions may not have the desired effect to reduce CO2 emissions. The government is introducing a new status symbol, the fuel-inefficient vehicle, and sales will no doubt climb. Dublin's streets, already choking, will be bumper to bumper all day and all night as the Celtic Tiger's children parade their wealth. Good news for the Exchequer, because tax revenues will go up and no one will complain, and God knows they need the money.
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