Madam, – I am appalled at the sneaky tactic that is being used to reintroduce which I believe is essentially a long term tax on education (July 13th).
Once the next generation of students emerge from college they will find themselves tied to their loan for the first decade of their working life.
Yes, the country is in a dire financial state but while money is needed urgently the revenue that would be raised from essentially taxing graduates would not come on stream for years.
Are we attempting to model ourselves on the system we see across the Atlantic where graduates are literally tied up for years in repaying their college loans?
For the first time in a decade the price of property is such that young professionals may actually be able to afford to buy their own home, but they will not be able to do so if they are crippled repaying their college fees.
Let us also not forget it is in the first few years of their careers, where there is often no family to worry about, that people can spend money most freely. This supports many jobs.
By taking on a college course you have given up three or fours years of a salary. Most of us gladly do so, realising that the long term benefits of an education outweigh the burden of scrimping and saving. However this extra burden on graduation can only act as a further deterrent to third level. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Given the acknowledged value to the country of an educated workforce and the generally-received wisdom that graduates bring valued skills and specialist knowledge (and hence an economic and strategic advantage) to their employers, has anybody thought of funding third-level education through a “graduate tax”?
Such a tax could be levied on any public- or private-sector organisation that employed a third-level graduate, and paid monthly or annually in the future alongside pay related social insurance (PRSI), pension and other standard contributions.
A sliding scale of tax could be adopted, based on the level of qualification achieved by the staff that these organisations take on (bachelor of arts, master’s degree, PhD), and the tax could be imposed irrespective of whether the qualification was obtained at home or in a third-level institution abroad.
For equity, a self-employed graduate could be taxed in similar way, again based on his or her qualification.
Thus those organisations that most directly reap the benefits – both from Government investment in third-level education and also the time and effort invested by school-leavers in seeking additional qualifications – would directly help to fund the next generation of qualified employees. – Yours, etc,