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August, 2007

Corporate Taxes? Highly Illogical

It's good to see the Conservative Party, through the otherworldly presence of John Redwood, arguing strongly for the tax burden on UK business to be reduced (the full report, in pdf format, is here). And it's good to see Ireland's low corporate tax base cited as a warning: if British taxes aren't reduced, globalised businesses might just head to kinder climes where they wouldn't have to fork out so much to government.

Just one thing.

How are we to reconcile a fear about the tax burden on business with the fact that almost a third of the 700 top British business paid not one single penny in corporation tax during the 2005-6 period? Or that another third barely paid any? This, I fear, will require a more advanced mind than my own...

Posted by Ciarán on Tue, 28/08/2007 - 07:10

Bells

Well, it's certainly the season... Off Draw Breath's bloggers go to put these on:

Posted by Anonymous on Thu, 16/08/2007 - 08:11

Iveagh Waterfall

Posted by Ciarán on Wed, 15/08/2007 - 22:28

Aer Lingus and Foss v Harbottle

Update: I get a lot of traffic from people at academic ip addresses googling Foss v Harbottle. I should emphasise that the following is at best rather speculative. So don't go sticking it in a university essay!

One last comment on the Aer Lingus move to Belfast. As I said last night, I have my doubts about Ryanair's motives towards Aer Lingus.

Aer Lingus is, essentially, a 25% subsidiary of Ryanair. But that doesn't mean that the maximisation of Ryanair share values (which its Michael O'Leary's legal obligation to deliver) would result from the maximisation of Aer Lingus share values. So I wonder about what he's up to. Does it involve him envisaging an actual reversal of Aer Lingus's decision? Such a reversal would involve wandering into some strange legal territory.

If Ryanair and the government did succeed in changing the decision, my guess is that Aer Lingus would be liable, at least in theory, to be taken to court by any of the minority shareholders, people like Denis O'Brien.

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Posted by Ciarán on Wed, 15/08/2007 - 09:10

Ryanair to the Rescue? I Doubt it

Speaking of which, I see that Sarah Carey is delighted that Michael O'Leary is sticking it to the government by calling for an EGM over Aer Lingus's move from Shannon to Belfast. Sarah says that "I just LOVE him for taking this stance" so I think it's safe to say she's impressed!

Sadly, my capacity for love is more limited.

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Posted by Ciarán on Tue, 14/08/2007 - 20:53

Red

Posted by Ciarán on Tue, 14/08/2007 - 20:28

Sinn Plane

Oh the joys of being an all-Ireland party! Marvellous to read two posts on the Sinn Féin site from the 7th of August and one from the 13th:

First we hear that:

"Sinn Féin West Belfast MLA Paul Maskey MLA has welcomed the Aer Lingus decision to base its new regional hub at Belfast International Airport.

Mr Maskey said:

"This is good news for local people who get new flights and hopefully cheaper flights."

and then, from Sinn Féin's Limerick representative, Maurice Quinlivan:

This decision on the Heathrow route if confirmed could prove very detrimental to our local economy and will make it difficult to attract tourism and future investment. Direct jobs will also be lost at the airport. We are a small island nation we need a national airline, one that will play a dynamic role in the national and local economy ensuring we have adequate cargo and freight routes as well.

Then there's Arthur Morgan TD:

“Fianna Fáil through its privatisation agenda has facilitated this financial loss to the country thus proving again that the privatisation of key public services and interests does not deliver better services, more jobs or a stronger economy."

So that's a clearly all-Ireland party line then.

Posted by Ciarán on Tue, 14/08/2007 - 20:18

How Odd

How strange. I set up a Google Alert thingy last week for any news on Irish Credit Unions. So, I get an alert this morning telling me about Hyndman et al's Accountability: A Study of Credit Unions.

Now, this book is available directly from Oak Tree Press for €45, including shipping. It's available for £31 from Amazon (including their £1.99 sourcing fee), which is about €46, or for £18.99/€27 incl postage from one of their marketplace sellers.

But the page Google directed me to belongs to some group in the Guinness Enterprise Centre in Dublin called Research and Markets. They sell the book for the same price as Oak Tree Press: €40. What I find intriguing, though, is the €50 'handling and shipping fee.'

I dare not ask what sort of handling the book would receive but I assume it involves tongues.

Posted by Ciarán on Tue, 14/08/2007 - 10:01

Beam me up

We could soon have the ability to be walking solar panels according to a new fashion initiative previewed in the Siggraph 2007 show and featured in yesterday's Guardian. Smart clothes have been with us in bulky form for quite a while now. However, technology has been honed to produce ever smaller and more lightweight garments. Take for example the solar bikini. A perfect way of keeping both skin tone and ipod charged. Just don't forget the factor 50!

Posted by isabel on Tue, 14/08/2007 - 08:38

Seatbelts, Subprime and the Export of Risk

I've spoken before about the evidence on how SUV drivers, having exported the risks to people outside their cars, tend to drive more recklessly. Not that this makes SUV drivers a particularly unique demographic: for instance this graph suggests that, if anything, the introduction of mandatory seatbelt-wearing led to a worse situation than would otherwise have been the case in terms of overall deaths: the reduction in driver deaths was more than matched by a the growth in pedestrian and other deaths. As the study from which the graph was taken says, "to compel a person to use protection from the consequences of hazardous driving, as seatbelt laws do, is to encourage hazardous driving."1

So. What has this got to do with the ongoing subprime crisis? Well, they're both stories about risk.

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Posted by Ciarán on Sun, 12/08/2007 - 09:41