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Samizdata quote of the day I believe taxes – of all kinds – should be kept as low as possible and that the pressure to get them down should be relentless… Taxes on income are taxes on effort, work and entrepreneurship. Taxes on capital are taxes on investment and risk taking. But it is effort, work, entrepreneurship, investment and risk taking that we need to continue to grow our economic base.
– Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner.
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I suspect this gentleman is Irish (Ireland has the lowest taxes of any state of the E.U.).
However, I doubt that “harmonization” of taxes (first only a few taxes – then others, then others then…..) would mean that taxation of all states (what used to be nations) would go down to the Irish level – more likely they would be at Belgium levels.
Without tax competition taxes would go up and up. Ireland should get out of the E.U.
“But what about its subsidies”.
The Republic of Ireland does not get much money (net) out of the E.U. these days. And E.U. orders are starting to bight – the Irish civil service has been less keen to turn these orders into regulations than the British civil service has (but the hand of the Irish civil servants are starting the get forced – and this will get worse in time).
Also the vast Euro credit-money bubble has hit Ireland – the state of the real estate market (for example) is cause for more than a bit of concern.
Is that woman behind him in rapt attention or convulsing?
I believe taxes – of all kinds – should be kept as low as possible…
Ah, but how low is that?
There in lies the rub.
Paul, it would be brilliant if Ireland quit the EU because the Uk would follow after but they’re mired in the Eurozone…
The perception in Ireland is that McCreevy, having slashed taxes in Ireland as Finance Minister (with the help of the now obliterated Progressive Democrats party, of which he might as well have been a member), was a liability to Fianna Fáil’s catch-all, centrist tendencies. That is why it is said that he was sent to Europe, to be somewhat out of the people’s sight, and out of their mind on polling day.
If this is true it has a ring of truth to it, as Fianna Fáil did extremely well in the election, while the PDs were mostly destroyed. Now Ireland has an unprecedented Fianna Fáil-Green government with the support of the last two PDs.
Ireland has been found in surveys to be one of the most pro-EU states of all. For whatever reason, large numbers of people seem to be extremely happy with it. However, the present goverment has stated its opposition to any form of tax harmonisation and this position has broad support.
If the Irish really aren’t interested in using this guy, please send him to Washington. That one paragraph contains more good sense than any heard in the U.S. since . . . well, a very long time.
Yes the whole thing gives me yet another reason to jump off a cliff (on top of all the other reasons).
People often tell me “a priori arguments do not convince people” – but “empirical experience” does not seem to convince them either.
The policy of the Progressive Democrats (put into practice when they were working with the F.F.) was of vast benefit to the Irish people – who then react by destroying the Progessive Democrats.
It reminds me of other examples:
At the start of the 20th century there was universal literacy in Iceland (the land of the midnight sun some hundreds of miles north of the British Isles) and virtually no government support for schools – so the government responded to this situation by setting up a system of government schools (with public support), and they introduced prohibition and did lots of other statist things.
“People will not risk libertarianism” – I might live with that, but for people to reject freedom when they already have it (and with no Great Depression or other excuse) is something I find hard to understand.
Little Andorra had no poverty and welfare state as late as the 1960’s – so they introduced welfare state programs WHY, WHY, WHY?
And they have introduced a sales tax and a “modern constitution” and……..
Switzerland had no government unemployment pay and no unemployment (and no people starving on the street either) as late as the 1970s – so they introduced government unemployment “insurance”.
Why?
Neither reason, or experience seem to have much effect on most voters.
Time for the cliff and the sound of the sea.
Paul, I’m going with you:-)
Because they take their freedom, and the prosperity that goes with it, for granted. People think you can monkey with the circumstances that have fostered these virtues with impunity because they don’t realise that they did foster them: they assume they are more free, more prosperous, more civilized than other countries because they’re inherently better people. Which, of course, their forefathers were, an a way: they had the sense to see that low taxation, sound justice and minimal interference were necessary.
As for McCreevy, how did he get in? Somebody call Security…
CFM,
Sadly, because of our insane immigration hurdles, McCreevy would never be able to find legal work in the U.S. — unless, of course, he took a quick course in Spanish and crossed the Rio Grande from the south, late at night.
Then, the world would be his oyster.
In case anyone is thinking “the Irish voted the way they did (and think of the E.U. the way they do) because no one tried to argue the case for freedom”:
There is a academic at Trinity College Dublin (in the great tradition of Richard Whately) who manages to get on television and radio.
And there is the Edmund Burke Intitute.
“But against the weight of the media and the education system”.
True enough.