At the Edge of the VAT Debate
When the Chancellor was on his feet announcing his 2.5% cut in VAT, Stormont MLAs were questioning Arlene Foster about her plans to attract more tourists.
One of our local MPs, the DUP's William McCrea, did get a question in. He wanted to know what the Chancellor proposed to do about "extortionate interest rate premiums that banks are placing on small businesses". The Chancellor said it was important that banks behave reasonably and he was introducing extra scrutiny to ensure that "appropriate action" could be taken if they don't.
The Stormont Finance Minister Nigel Dodds welcomed the VAT cut, but opposed the planned increase in National Insurance contributions. Mr Dodds said the Executive now had the opportunity to "accelerate up to £86.5 million funding for investment in the local economy over the next two years". He hinted that this would enable him to assist the local construction industry,soemthing which we might hear more about at the Executive's meeting next Thursday which is due to concentrate on the "credit crunch".
Whilst Nigel Dodds reckons the package is a bit of a curate's egg ("only time will tell" is his fence sitting conclusion), the Tory NI spokesman Owen Paterson is predictably critical. He says the "tax bombshell" will only make NI's "clearly unsustainable" public sector dominated economy worse.
I haven't yet seen a UUP response, but should we deduce that in this "new political force" era they will repeat the Conservative line?
The Alliance's Stephen Farry has given the Darling package a qualified welcome describing it as decisive. He reckons the Darling approach to the economic downturn contrasts with the "inaction" of the Executive so far. Mr Farry, who spent some time studying in Washington D.C., is also a fan of Barack Obama's planned "Green New Deal".
So far I haven't seen any responses from Sinn Fein or the SDLP, although I'd be surprised if they don't come down on the Keynesian side of the argument.
As the pattern of shopping in border towns shows, price differentials influenced by tax changes and currency movements can have profound implications for us. But with Stormont bereft of tax varying powers you get a sense of being on the sidelines when such statements are made. The UUP-Tory marriage is meant to be one move which might bring local and UK wide politics closer together, but so far as NI and the latest debate is concerned are they on the right side of the argument?
UPDATE: Sir Reg Empey has just told my colleague Gareth Gordon that he would have preferred more help for people paying their fuel bills to a cut in VAT. Mark Durkan says it's not clear if the temporary VAT cut will provide more of a stimulus than a rebate on income tax.
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Mark
What difference does it make if VAT is cut by 2.5%? Nigel Dodd's as Finance Minister here in Northern Ireland is really only a Muppet. He has no power to do anything. When asked about the £465 million his department is spending in the Civil Service on Human Resources rather than the £328 million that was first thought he said "The change in the estimated cost can be attributed to an increase in the services provided under the contract and an increase in the contract period from 10 to 15 years." What a load of bull. How can you suddenly add services? Then Nigel was asked - What progress has been made on HR Connect? Dodds again says "HR Connect will modernise the personnel function throughout the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the Northern Ireland Office. It will replace outdated IT systems, modernise personnel processes through greater use of self-service facilities by staff, and provide centralised support services from a shared-service centre." That doesn’t tell what progress has been made. There is no justification for that amount of money being spent.
What do you say now Nigel? Now is the time for honesty.
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Stormontspy seems to have the most inappropriate username. Surely he should be the one providing the answers rather than flapping around with his little inanities. He clearly doesn't understand how anything works...perhaps he is Kieran McCarthy and is going to advise us that the Government should be paying for our mortagages.
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Languishing first.
How can I justify the waste of half a billion? Can you? Maybe with your username you are someone who is most unhappy in life and therefore provide opposition for opposition sake.
Stormontspy
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"modernise personnel processes through greater use of self-service facilities by staff"
So they'll be filling in their own timesheets on a computer, requesting holidays on a computer, viewing their payslips on a computer and telling somebody their computer doesn't work on a computer.
Progress indeed. I hope those pesky dissident republicans and TUVers take note of what has been achieved and stop complaining.
To be honest, most of the stuff Mark wrote about up there went over my head. I have no idea how to solve a global financial crisis.
Can we not have an argument about something parochial instead?
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super progress indeed RJ
someone will be telling them they have a cordless phone next!!
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