Longford Leader Columnist Mattie Fox: The promise of lower taxes

Banks and other proportionately wealthy or well off people are enjoying the benefits of ever reducing taxes in this state.

The state is regularly assuring people that as soon as possible it will ease the burden even further on the wealthy and well off, by further tax reductions.

Strange in a country that cannot properly look after people who are sick, and this has extended to creating thousands of homeless alongside, that we have a government which is preoccupied with lowering taxes.

It’s also a state where spending is incurred without proper governance and basic business controls.

It seems anyone can become Minister for Health nowadays, for instance. No formal qualifications required, really.

Good local TD’s do not necessarily become good ministers unless they are naturally gifted intellects.

Taxes in Ireland are awfully low, when compared to other jurisdictions - which the government constantly use against nurses among others - but is never cited in relation to raising taxes.

We’ve seen taxes reduce from 48% down as far as 40% currently.

When taxes were 48% banks had interest rates of up to 14%.

Nobody created anarchy. Everyone got on with living their lives, and we had far better care for the sick, with relatively few homeless.

Back then, the state was perfectly happy to build houses, and hospital staffing levels were proportionate to patient numbers.
Some aspects of society worked very well, in spite of some of the squalor that exists in every society in the world.

We must remember the unfortunate phrase “the poor will always be with us”.

Time was, a millionaire was a rare species.

How many millionaires are residing in Longford presently?

Minimum as many as twenty, and to find them you wouldn’t have to go far.

Meanwhile, the government is constantly promising lower taxes.