Things have gotten so bad in Ireland that its debt is now ranked at the top of the risk charts. With the banks so heavily invested in the building boom that's gone bust, the credit crisis in the Emerald Isle has all but killed off the Celtic Tiger.
The budget shortfall is projected to reach an all-time, astronomical high. Multi-national firms are closing up and moving to Poland where labor is cheaper, leading to rocketing unemployment and the loss of tax income from both the former employer and the sacked employee. Where is the money to come from to fund national health, roads, schools, the dole, et al.?
The Central Bank has a brilliant plan. They've found a new tax, one that's worked well in the States but has yet to be introduced to Ireland.
Irish people, meet the Property Tax. It may be here to stay, so make room in your budget.
Why, if every property owner had to pay the government 1,000 euros annually as a property tax, that's billions that would flow in. The religious at CORI could stop harping about cuts to social welfare, the unions would stop roaring about cutting wages---much quieter in Dublin altogether.
Speaking from Davos, Switzerland, Brian Cowen has declared that it's pure speculation to talk about property taxes. The Cabinet will discuss it in due time and nothing's happening until the end of the summer, in the run-up to the December budget.
Imagine how happy the Irish people will be, with their budgets already stretched to the limit. For those without work, who are about to lose their homes in foreclosure, it must be heart-warming to know that there will still be money in the Exchequer to provide them with a council house and social welfare payments.
Maybe someone at the Central Bank can figure out, between now and September, how an already financially strapped populace can come up with even more tax money, and not send the Irish economy into a complete tailspin.
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