the goose

Ever had awful service in a restaurant?  Been overcharged at the till in a Supermarket?  Had your phone company rip you off while you were roaming on Holiday?

Infuriating, isn’t it.  You do at least have the pleasure of taking your business somewhere else however.  The same cannot be said for your government.

Like it lump it, no matter how uncleanly the hospitals or how backward the public transport, you pretty much just have to grin and bear it.  Or do you?

When we switch business from one provider to another, we see it as a healthy part of the free market process.  It helps companies to shape their service and improve their offering.  We don’t really have the same feedback to government.  Elected officials are primarily an overpaid complaints department and while they have power, the mechanisms of government are so unweildy, that the feedback loop is almost non-existant.

Your feedback will be far more keenly felt if you hit them where they are hitting you – the pocket.  Given you are reading my blog, I take you to be an high functioning, well mannered, erudite asset to the country.  Rather than give out about the taxes and the poor service, and if you really have the courage of your convictions, you have to leave and withdraw your tax contribution and expertise.  Give it to a competing economy that deserves it more, and in the process, help make Ireland a better place to live.

But isn’t leaving a bit drastic?  Well here are a few ways to soften the blow for you.

1. You (hardly) have to pay any personal tax: Having lived in Argentina for the last five months, I can tell you that the cost of living here is about 1/3 of that at home.  That means that the local tax thresholds are way lower.  That means, in terms of purchasing power, the 40% tax threshold of €35,400 translates to €100,000 of purchasing power.  Can you imagine paying 20% on a €100,000 salary in Dublin?  Better still, if you can stay out of the country for 183 days, three years coming, you don’t need to pay income tax at all.
2. You don’t have to make any VAT returns:  Dove tailing nicely, the VAT registration threshold is €37,500.  This means, if you can find a cash-flow of just under that with a high margin (such as selling time as a programmer/architect/other).
3. Bring your friends:  Telcoms really has come a long way.  One long time coming innovation that is fast coming up the tracks is video conferencing.  Its been 13 years since I had my first teleconference involving roughly €400,000 worth of telecoms infrastructure.  After all that, it managed only to switch to whoever happened to be picking their nose at the wrong time in the call.  Now however, telepresence is almost among us.  Using Google video chat we’ve had hours of arguments with family and friends back home.  At times you really do start to forget that they are so far away and I can see the time when keeping up with friends via teleconference will really be possible.  It may seem a little weird, but I do see keeping in touch with friends becoming more of a possability.  It is not quiet teleporting, but it is getting close.
4. Have it both ways: If you do get fed up for the red wine, sunshine and great steaks, you are about 15 hours and €800 away from home.   Out of your €35k budget you can put €7 towards tax, €20k towards living and still have €8k to pop home once or twice or three times a year.

That is all you need to poke one in the eye for the Irish government.  Just sit back and relax and wait for a couple of years until they come groveling back, begging for attention.

Okay, so that won’t happen, but next time you find yourself complaining, remember you have a choice.