Budget 2008 (2 Viewers)

[maims bond]

1000 euro over five years if you own a bicycle. I am so screwed on the petrol thing. I swear I have to downsize and my car is only a 1.4 engine but its costing me a fortune

where did you find that bike info out? need to see how it will operate.

 

[egg_]

Mary Harney was on the radio this morning saying that 60-something percent of people over 70 will still be entitled to full medical cards, a good chunk of the remainder will be entitled to GP-only cards, and most of the rest will be entitled to €400 a year towards medical expenses. She said only 6% of over 70s won't be entitled to any sort of benefit.

If she's speaking the truth it seems kinda fair enough

I find the 60-something percent entitled to full medical cards kinda puzzling though. The maximum non-contributory state pension is €212 per week, and the income threshold for a full medical card for a single person is €201.50. By that rationale practically no-one over 65 is entitled to a medical card

 

[ratmonkey]

where did you find that bike info out? need to see how it will operate.

Budget summary here.

Cycle to work scheme

From 1 January 2009, the provision of bicycles and associated safety equipment by employers to employees who agree to use the bicycles to cycle to work will be treated as a tax exempt benefit-in-kind. The exemption may only apply once in any five year period in respect of any employee. There will be a limit on the value of such purchases of €1,000 for each employee. The scheme may also be implemented via salary sacrifice arrangements, whereby an employee agrees to forego part of his/her salary to cover the costs associated with the purchase of the bicycle and associated safety equipment. Where such salary sacrifice arrangements are implemented, they must be completed over a maximum period of twelve months.
The estimated cost of this scheme is €0.2 million in 2009 and €0.4 million in a full year.
​

 

[maims bond]

Budget summary here.

Cycle to work scheme

From 1 January 2009, the provision of bicycles and associated safety equipment by employers to employees who agree to use the bicycles to cycle to work will be treated as a tax exempt benefit-in-kind. The exemption may only apply once in any five year period in respect of any employee. There will be a limit on the value of such purchases of €1,000 for each employee. The scheme may also be implemented via salary sacrifice arrangements, whereby an employee agrees to forego part of his/her salary to cover the costs associated with the purchase of the bicycle and associated safety equipment. Where such salary sacrifice arrangements are implemented, they must be completed over a maximum period of twelve months.
The estimated cost of this scheme is €0.2 million in 2009 and €0.4 million in a full year.
​

ah balls. am i right in saying that this means employers who buy bikes and equipment for their staff are exempt from the VAT on those purchases?

 

[Froog]

so companies are obliged to buy bikes for employees who want them or encouraged?

 

[ratmonkey]

ah balls. am i right in saying that this means employers who buy bikes and equipment for their staff are exempt from the VAT on those purchases?

I doubt many employers would buy bikes for anyone, more like you'd pay them back the cost of the bike, which would be exempt from VAT and PAYE, PRSI, that lovely new levy etc..

What exactly constitutes an agreement to cycle to work is pretty vague as well.

 

[Michael O'Leary]

I think Michael O' Leary's head just exploded.

No no, my head is fine thank god.

And 8cents on a litre of petrol.
Not great.

This 8c per litre rise brings it on par with the price of diesel. Only fair i reckon.

 

[jcdonaggio]

need to find a black market source for smokes.

 

[dleacht]

How does the parking thing work? If you have free parking they cant make you pay 200euro can they? How do they trace free parking?

 

[maims bond]

I doubt many employers would buy bikes for anyone, more like you'd pay them back the cost of the bike, which would be exempt from VAT and PAYE, PRSI, that lovely new levy etc..

What exactly constitutes an agreement to cycle to work is pretty vague as well.

sounds like a shit idea, I wanted something like €1 per mile cycled to work with some fancy GPS system involved in monitoring it. ah well.

 

[Daisy's Dukes]

So the government have decided to 'help' first time buyers get on the property ladder (and straight into negative equity) by bascially becoming sub prime lenders with this home loands schemes. And they will only lend to people buying new houses/apartments. Tom Parlon and his builder buddies at the CIF must think all their Christmases have come at once.

So on the one hand they have withdrawn free health care to the elderly while on the other they have bailed out the builders. It seriously makes me want to SCREAM

 

[aoboa]

Jesus, what was depressing yesterday just smacks of stupidity and cowardice today when you dig into it a bit.
Pandering to the construction industry with government backed loans to shift unsold homes at a good price and neglecting to close a tax loophole for the industry that loses billions.
A refusal to reform the public sector by cutting all the crap out of it.
Narrowing the gap between minimum wage and social welfare to make it even less attractive to get a job.
Not taxing the rich enough.
The list goes on.

Now they announce their bank plans which again are vague and have been roundly laughed out of it by most economists. With no details of how much the banks are gonna pay for the backing, no plan to sack the idiots at the wheel and no info about how they're gonna limit the top salaries.

Seriously, this is fucking ridiculous.

 

[dleacht]

It's a plan that will assist our national debt to rise rather than to curtail it. What did we expect trusting politicans?

 

[aoboa]

Oh and €100 A&E charge.
We end up in A&E a couple of times a year with the little fella. If your kid gets really sick or hurt outside of GP hours you've no choice.

 

[dleacht]

If they are going to force people to use public transport by putting up the price of petrol and taxing parking, you'd think they would at least make better allowance for public transport system which isn't great. Metro for Swords wont be in place until 2010 and that will most likely be slowed down no matter what has been promised