Ireland, Household charge can be defeated, tax the rich not the poor!

Today in Ireland took place a massive national demonstration in the national sporting arena with up to 3000 people cramming in to hear speech’s and bands all encouraging ordinary Irish folk to refuse to pay the household charge. What a reaction this got I have been following developments all day and speech’s from our own TD Joe Higgins in Ireland getting a fantastic reception too. This can be the spark that lights this campaign and allows it to really take off I feel.

What is the background to this then you may ask?
The Irish government, as part of its crippling deal with the troika will soon introduce a new “household charge”, another financial burden on working families after an onslaught of austerity attacks linked to the IMF/EU plan. The Socialist Party (CWI in Ireland) pledges to organise a mass campaign of non-payment, along the lines of the mass movement which defeated water charges in the 1990s and the victorious poll tax struggle in Britain.
The government’s proposed Household Charge of €100 is the forerunner for water charges and a property tax on every home. A pensioner or low paid worker pays the same as a millionaire. How rotten! This new tax has absolutely nothing to do with improving council services – the proceeds go towards the bailout of wealthy gamblers and bankers, for which ordinary people are being bled dry.
Everyone knows the tax will start at €100 and rise relentlessly, if we let it. The Economic Social and Research Institute called for household taxes for years. Its leading economist, John Fitzgerald, has said this is only “the beginning” and that a home tax of €800 plus a water tax of €500 is needed.
Already, life is becoming intolerable with the Universal Social Charge, pay cuts, rising mortgage payments and even management fees on many home-owners.
In a remarkable U-turn on pre-election promises, Fine Gael and Labour are now fully committed to the EU/IMF/ECB package of bailing out bankers but austerity and cuts for us. By taking all of the money away from ordinary people, personal consumption has collapsed by €13 billion in 3 years, adding to unemployment. Austerity is what is causing the economic havoc throughout Europe. It will make the crisis much worse and guarantee bankruptcy.
This tax is not deducted at source and we can and must defeat it. This can only be done by building a grassroots campaign of non-payment in every area. The Socialist Party in Dublin West plan has been to work with the community to do just this. In the 1990s, the Socialist Party led the Anti Water Charges Federation which successfully defeated water charges then.
Protest in Northern Ireland
Building non-payment, challenging in the courts and political opposition forced the then FG/Labour government to abolish water charges. In particular, the by-election challenge of Joe Higgins in 1996 in Dublin West became a referendum on water tax and rocked the political establishment.
Minister Bruton has dismissed this charge as “only €100”. While this amount is of course a burden for many families, the figure will skyrocket beyond €1,000 quickly as the ‘troika’ has ordered other home taxes within two years. The government is testing the ground for heftier Property and Water Taxes. If they get this one bedded down, they will be more confident to proceed. If we build non-payment of the Household Charge from the start, it makes it very difficult to impose two new taxes.

The government will go all-out to try force people to pay. A monthly draconian fine and court has been threatened. Contrast this to the light-touch handling of the white-collar criminal millionaires who destroyed the economy! Not one banker or businessman has been brought to book. By building a powerful campaign of civil disobedience with roots in every area, solidarity can give confidence to householders to be united and maintain non-payment. Tens of thousands of people can’t be dragged through the courts.

Labour now stands with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in supporting household and water charges – despite expensive media ads opposing them before the elections. Labour should be reminded of this cynical betrayal. Labour politicians who say they oppose the tax, but remain in a party pushing it through, can only be seen as opportunist. While Sinn Fein has said it opposes the household tax, it has unfortunately ruled out putting its resources behind supporting non-payment, which is the only way this rip-off can be defeated. This will no doubt disappoint many Sinn Fein voters.
The Socialist Party / United Left Alliance is the only party clearly putting forward a boycott and actively committed to building and being part of an independent, broad-based national campaign to defeat Household and Water Taxes. Our track record is second to none on this issue.

Despite the daily media propaganda, there is considerable untapped wealth in Ireland. The country is not broke. Ireland remains 6th out of 27 EU countries in financial wealth, but of course, this wealth is concentrated in a few hands. The Central Bank reported in May that there is €120 billion in Irish bank deposits – why could a wealth tax not be imposed on this rather than taking from households, from our education and health services? Massive natural gas and oil resources could also be explored for the benefit of Irish society, rather than for one or two multinationals.

An expensive start to 2011- VAT bombshell, Broken promises continue

Well that is how it seems this morning. Whilst reading this article from the New statesman http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/01/raise-vat-tax-tories

It seems they are both at fault here. Highlighting the fact that both the tories and the lib dems campaigned in the last election on the back of the fact they would not be putting up VAT at all if they got elected.

In fact David Cameron made it one of his persoanl pledges to not bring VAT up. He described the tax as a regressive tax and unfair on the poor.

Fast forward 6 months 4th of January 2010 and guess waht a 2.5% rise in VAT to a staggering 20% on all things VAT taxed. Absolutely disgusting. How are they getting away with it i ask you ?

It is a horrible slap in the face to the poor and business's who are already facing tough times from the year before. Some may have only just made it through the last year by the skin of their teeth. Now are being forced to absorb a VAT increase.

On top of all this the thieving train companies which people rely on day in day out to get across our great country to and from work have decided due to lack of investment to put up their prices by a average of 7% on top of what wwere already ridiculously expensive prices.

How are the train regulators allowing them to get away with this nasty rise taking the VAT increase into consideration too train travel will simply become unaffordable to many this year i feel. But are our government stepping in to help people out ? no they are not they are making things worse for them at the worst possible time.

I read a article over the weekend that suggests people should start protesting to train operators who charge ridiculous prices for their service yet offer a terrible often late or canceled service. If train companies since going private want to charge more i feel people have a right to expect a much better service for that extra price.

The extra rise in the VAt rise will bring in a estimated 13 billion pounds to the government is it really worth that when we could be taxing the bankers far more and closing tax loop holes which is estimated it could bring in nearer 120 billion pounds. More than enough to cover the debt and allow the people in this country who did not cause this mess a chance to breathe and try and get by a lot easier.

All these attacks just seem to be coming more and more on the common working people its about time it ended and the tables were reversed.