PwC warns clients to sell assets before Sinn Féin gets into power

[Calahonda52]

https://www.businesspost.ie/article/pwc ... nto-power/

A draft PwC report to their clients has advised them to accelerate their asset sales and boost their pension contributions in order to protect their wealth before Sinn Féin gets into power.
The Big Four accounting firm has analysed the party’s plans to increase income tax for higher earners, to gather more inheritance tax and to bring in a second home tax.
The advice note, titled “What a Sinn Féin budget may look like”, outlines actions that PwC clients could consider to protect their wealth. They include accelerating “asset sales”, “pension contributions”, “gifts”, and bonuses and dividends.
This would allow clients to avoid the impact of future Sinn Féin policies such as higher taxes on asset sales for large earners, reduced tax relief for large pensions and a 1 per cent wealth tax on people with assets of over €1 million. Sinn Féin is also proposing to increase the tax on dividends.
Fine Gael has seized on the PwC note on Sinn Féin’s budget plans as an example of the “huge threat” that Sinn Féin would pose if it got into government.
Peter Burke, the Minister of State for European Affairs, said the note highlighted the “huge threat” that Sinn Féin’s tax policies posed to the Irish economy, particularly multinational companies.
“The tax, borrow and spend strategy would drive our economy off a cliff,” he said.
Burke said that the Sinn Féin policy of increasing taxes such as capital gains tax and stamp duty did not take into account whether this would actually raise extra revenue.
“They are the cheerleaders to dish out the cake of resources but never detail the ingredients needed to make it in the first place,” he said.
The PwC advice note, which is dated March 2023 and titled “draft for discussion”, is the latest sign of how seriously large accounting firms like PwC are taking the prospect of Sinn Féin getting into government.
It has been the most popular party in Business Post/Red C polls since September 2021 and was at 31 per cent in last month’s poll.
Mary Lou McDonald, the Sinn Féin leader, and her frontbench TDs are now being lobbied by business groups and large corporates who would have previously shied away from dealing with the party. Google and Meta have held meetings with McDonald in recent months, according to the Lobbying Register.
A Sinn Féin spokesman said that it was customary for firms to advise their clients about potential tax changes.
“Firms are currently advising landlords to sell their properties as a result of changes made to the tax code by Fine Gael,” he said.
The Sinn Féin spokesman said that the biggest threat facing businesses is the housing crisis, which is undermining their ability to attract and retain talent.
“Sinn Féin is determined to work with industry to build a high-wage, innovative economy that drives a broad-based increase in living standards,” he said.
The advice note from PwC lists 20 different tax changes that Sinn Féin has promised to implement in its alternative budget last year. These include the gradual removal of income tax credits from workers earning over €100,000, a solidarity tax of 3 per cent on all income over €140,000 and a second home tax of €400 per property.
Sinn Féin wants to increase the stamp duty on house sales worth over €700,000 from 1 per cent to 2 per cent. The stamp duty on house sales over €1 million would increase from 2 per cent to 5 per cent.
The PwC advice note also highlights Sinn Féin’s policy of increasing employers’ PRSI on workers earning over €100,000 from 11 per cent to 13.5 per cent.
However, Sinn Féin has insisted that its alternative budget proposals would “give workers and families a break” with tax relief for renters, social welfare increases and reduced childcare costs.
The PwC note also mentions Sinn Féin’s proposal to introduce a “pollution tax” on private jet departure and to increase the bank levy. Michael McGrath, the Minister for Finance, has launched a public consultation on the future of the bank levy, which brings in €150 million per year.
The PwC advice note also suggests that clients could “avail of reliefs” to blunt the impact of Sinn Féin’s tax policies. Those mentioned include business property relief, retirement relief, entrepreneur relief, agricultural relief and pension lump sums. All these tax reliefs could potentially be used to reduce a person’s tax bill.

[Jack The Stripper]

The clients are safe enough, Sinn Fein won’t ever run this country. It’s the present government I would have concern for.
Watch them takes farms of land, people’s private houses in the interest of the common good.

[kadman]

Tax payers never had any issue in paying their fair share of tax. Its the large corporations and wealthy individuals who always had problems paying any tax, and they need to be forced to pay, as per usual.

[kadman]

The clients are safe enough, Sinn Fein won’t ever run this country. It’s the present government I would have concern for.
Watch them takes farms of land, people’s private houses in the interest of the common good.

Government already owns all the property lived in by the people. It happened the day they announced LPT. Your house was stolen then, and you are allowed to live in it as long as you pay property tax, or your house value pays it on your death or your descendants pay it on their death. Government owns it today. If they didn,t well you wouldn't be paying tax on it.

[PogMoThoin22]

We badly need to rid ourselves of 100 years of parties that only look after themselves and their privileged friends.

[Del.Monte]

We badly need to rid ourselves of 100 years of parties that only look after themselves and their privileged friends.

Like Sinn Fein are squeaky clean and only care about the common good. I'd be on the boat myself if I could afford to go as it has always been my intention to leave if SF ever get into government in any capacity.

[PogMoThoin22]

Like Sinn Fein are squeaky clean and only care about the common good. I'd be on the boat myself if I could afford to go as it has always been my intention to leave if SF ever get into government in any capacity.

I'll drop you at the boat

SF won't be the answer but will play a part in breaking this power swap cycle, hopefully it will bring about a change in our politics. We get exactly the politicians we deserve. We elect the wrong people for the wrong reasons. How many political dynasties do we have?

[marhay70]

I wouldn't hold any brief for SF but it wasn't them who impoverished the working man while letting the billionaires walk away scot free, it wasn't them who helped themselves to peoples' pensions, it wasn't them who invited the vulture funds to come into the country and buy up the housing stock and gave them preferable tax status in the process.

[kadman]

There is no way we can blame sinn fein for any of the current fiascos in todays governance in the country......they haven't been anywhere near the decision making processes at all. I wouldn,t be a lover of all SF policies, but I absolutely hate what FG,FF,Greens have done in the people's name.

[marhay70]

It'll be interesting to see if and when SF does take the reins of power, what their approach will be. It's a monumental task but the first job has to be housing to the detriment of all others with the possible exception of health. Lots of toes will have to be stepped on, lots of noses bloodied, the Civil Service will have to be taken by the scruff of its neck. I wonder if they have the bottle for it, if, as they say, they want to bring a new era to Irish politics.

[4524689]

They don’t. And seeing as they can’t wave armalites at people who won’t bend to their will, all we’ll have is more crooked politicians playing to the cheap seats so they can come back for a second season.

There used to be a homeless alcoholic who lived around Dundrum back through the 70’s to the 90’s. He had been a schoolteacher up north, but said he’d rather be homeless here than be intimidated by thugs up there.

If/when SF are given a party position/mandate in the Irish government by the knuckle-dragging electorate, that’s the day I’ll be gone for good.

They’re not the solution to any problems we have and it’s about time people started properly educating younger voters about what was done by that shower in the name of good people when we were their ages.

Murderous criminal scumbags. They’re filth in my opinion, and those who are too lazy or ignorant to remind others of their base nature should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

PWC and the wealthy have little to be worried about in the grand scheme of things. SF will set this country back about 70 years in terms of economic policy and erode the respected position we’ve all had to pay to attain on the international stage.

An inept political wing of a terrorist organisation, soon to be elected by a civically semi-literate pool of voters, to give them a platform to once again push to unite a country which hasn’t been so since the time of the ancient clans and high seat of power.

It’s a ruinous trajectory and wealth taxation will never in a hundred years undo the damage those bastards will do to us all if they’re handed power.

[Setanta]

All this talk of folk leaving if SF get into power,may be their secret weapon to sorting the housing crisis

[PogMoThoin22]

They don’t. And seeing as they can’t wave armalites at people who won’t bend to their will, all we’ll have is more crooked politicians playing to the cheap seats so they can come back for a second season.

There used to be a homeless alcoholic who lived around Dundrum back through the 70’s to the 90’s. He had been a schoolteacher up north, but said he’d rather be homeless here than be intimidated by thugs up there.

If/when SF are given a party position/mandate in the Irish government by the knuckle-dragging electorate, that’s the day I’ll be gone for good.

They’re not the solution to any problems we have and it’s about time people started properly educating younger voters about what was done by that shower in the name of good people when we were their ages.

Murderous criminal scumbags. They’re filth in my opinion, and those who are too lazy or ignorant to remind others of their base nature should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

PWC and the wealthy have little to be worried about in the grand scheme of things. SF will set this country back about 70 years in terms of economic policy and erode the respected position we’ve all had to pay to attain on the international stage.

An inept political wing of a terrorist organisation, soon to be elected by a civically semi-literate pool of voters, to give them a platform to once again push to unite a country which hasn’t been so since the time of the ancient clans and high seat of power.

It’s a ruinous trajectory and wealth taxation will never in a hundred years undo the damage those bastards will do to us all if they’re handed power.

Be sure you cover 2008 when you properly educate the younger voters before you leave

[4524689]

Be sure you cover 2008 when you properly educate the younger voters before you leave

You see, that right there is exactly the issue. People who clearly don’t understand history and refuse to acknowledge how SF have been doing harm to the average Irish citizen along with the rest of the political class.

Sinn Féin TD voted to support the bank/bondholder bailout in 2008.

If FF and FG are said to be like two cheeks of an arse, SF are the sweaty hairy crack in between, the one with an arsehole at its centre, surrounded by dingleberries and cling-ons.

SF are not friends of the Irish people.

[Johnny Von Pintland]

There will be no one more disappointing by SF in Government than diehard Shinners. They’ve been promised a socialist utopia, but they’ll have to deal with the realities of bond maturation, fiscal policy, demographic changes etc etc.

They also need to drop Pearse. He’s great at shouting and finger-pointing in the Dáil so the media team can fire stuff up on social media, but he’s not a clever man. He’s hopelessly out of his depth on these things.

[PogMoThoin22]

I'd love to know why whenever anyone speaks out and says a wrong word against FFG they're labelled a diehard shinner. There are few shinners, what there are is lots who want change. Anything to break the 100 year power swap

[678904673]

I can't see how SF can be worst then current Government. So I'll probably give them a vote next election

[Del.Monte]

I can't see how SF can be worst then current Government. So I'll probably give them a vote next election

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/p ... 09826.html - might as well have the Kinahans and Hutches running the country.

[678904673]

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/p ... 09826.html - might as well have the Kinahans and Hutches running the country.

Personally I see little difference between SF now and FF in the early 30's. Before FF came to power in 1932 there were dire warnings of the consequences. But the sky didn't fall in. Should SF form a Government I didn't it will hugely different to the current one

[PogMoThoin22]

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/p ... 09826.html - might as well have the Kinahans and Hutches running the country.

There's a good few in Leinster house who should be doing time for fraud, leaking documents and other illegal acts

[Jack The Stripper]

The country is gone down the sewer makes no difference now at this stage. All we are short now is a few hundred thousand Sudanese so Leo can get another gold star.