#G8: Taxation should remain focused on capital and employees not where sales are generated…

Sammy Wilson’s negative comments re the Republic’s tax regime at the weekend, just before the G8 convened, was clearly jumping on board mumbling from the US Congress, and Westminster PAC… …the British government does have some leverage on the Irish Government there, because they have a £7.5 billion loan, that is a lot of leverage. They should be saying to the government in the Republic, you cannot steal tax revenue from us in this way and that is in fact …

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“Already, two Sinn Fein special advisers have been submitted to vetting procedures put in place by Sammy Wilson, the finance minister, as a condition for paying them.”

In the Belfast Telegraph, Liam Clarke adds some interesting background detail on Jim Allister’s Bill legislating for the vetting of ministerial special advisers.  As he points out, vetting began following the resignation of Sinn Féin’s Mary McArdle – who had been jailed for her part in the 1984 murder of Mary Travers.  From the Belfast Telegraph article When Sinn Fein eventually replaced Ms McArdle with Mr Kearney, a journalist, Mr Wilson refused to pay him until he was vetted under special …

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Osborne’s Autumn Hidden Statement

As this goes live the UK Chancellor will have just polished off his briefing to the Cameron cabinet on the Osborne austerity budget. But there are just some things that don’t need to be spelled out as Mr Sammy Wilson explained when speaking to the UTV here. Sammy said that the budget arithmetic under the Barnett consequential will ensure that what’s cut on the mainland will be cut over here in equal percentage measure. That means that some deep cuts …

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Why the UK Chancellor’s regional pay initiative not a solution to depressed regional growth…

Mark Langhammer disputes George Osborne’s idea (set out in his Autumn statement) that local pay bargaining is the way to go, drawing on a recent report from NIPSA he argues instead that “localised pay bargaining would be inefficient, costly, wasteful and likely to increase pay disputes, a fact well recognised in the private sector.” The Osborne/Cameron ideological initiative is based on a poor grasp of the facts. Osborne argues that “while private sector pay is set in accordance with local …

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Sammy Wilson’s #dupconf routine – complete with doubtful gags about SF’s Long Creche

Sammy Wilson’s speech was billed as ‘finance’, but was in reality his usual mid-afternoon comic turn to pick up the spirits of the delegates who were still in the hall. You can hear the full 20 minute routine over on Audioboo (mp3 download). In one section about 5 minutes in, he was commenting on the recent Sinn Fein Ard Fheis in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall. He referred to the crèche – labelled by Sinn Fein (rather than Sammy) as ‘Long Crèche’ …

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Ministerial U-turn on NI Water Chief Executive’s terms

After his very well publicised threat to resign, the acting Chief Executive at Northern Ireland Water, Trevor Haslett, appears to have got what he wanted – a £20,000 pay rise [and a two year contract? – Ed].  From the BBC report A spokeswoman for the Department for Regional Development confirmed the deal. “Northern Ireland Water needs leadership and stability,” she said. “Trevor Haslett has demonstrated that he is the best person to lead NI Water through the winter that is almost …

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Every little helps…

I DOUBT if our Sammy has been down at Writer’s Square lately, or whether he’s been flicking through the pages of Tescopoly – but there’s little doubt he has managed to piss off one multi-national more than our tent-dwelling comrades have. And after reading Tesco director David North’s threats the other day about cutting job creation and investment here if Sammy goes ahead with plans to impose a large retailer levy, I rather sympathise with Sammy. North said last week …

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Quick. Look busy…

Whether you’re the UK Home Secretary keen to be seen to be responding to riots on the streets of London, or the Northern Ireland Finance Minister calling a local “emergency meeting” about a global financial crisis.  Appearances are everything… [Until someone asks a “stupid” question – Ed]  Indeed. Pete Baker

2 Ministers vote against budget, 1 missing…

Interesting for cross border pol watchers that Sinn Fein is backing a cuts budget in Northern Ireland, whilst criticising the new coalition in the Republic for implementing Fianna Fail’s austerity focused four year plan. [See important caveat by IrishActuary on Twitter]. Just as interesting though is the way the so-called Manditory Coalition seems to be bursting apart at the seams, with the UUP Minister voting against, and Alex Attwood apparently missing in action… Margaret Ritchie: “Devolution was supposed to be …

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“Budget Allocations are not the end, but the start of the process”

When the departmental allocations of Northern Ireland’s draft budget were finally revealed on 15th December the public consultation was also set in motion – even though the detail of each minister’s spending plan was not yet known. That consultation is due to end on 9th February. But, as the NI Finance Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, has pointed out to UTV, the majority of NI Executive Ministers have not yet published their spending plans. “So far despite the fact the information was supposed …

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“I do think it would be seen as a failure of the assembly…”

The BBC reports the concerns of Northern Ireland Finance Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, about the potential need for an emergency budget if the NI Executive fails to agree a draft budget.  From the BBC report Mr Wilson said some ministers had been co-operating with his department. “It would be wrong to blame everybody and I hope everyone doesn’t get tarred with the one brush,” he said. “I do think it would be seen as a failure of the assembly …

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John Lewis inquiry delayed due to Minister’s comments

Official statements by the then Northern Ireland Environment Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, have already been quashed by one member of the judiciary because they unlawfully changed planning policy to “give greater weight to [the] economic considerations” of any proposed development.  Now the BBC reports that the Planning Appeals Commission has confirmed a further delay to the public inquiry into the John Lewis development at Sprucefield.  The reason?  Legal concerns about comments made in a recent interview by the current NI …

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High Court rules NI Environment Minister’s official statements to Assembly unlawful

The BBC reports that the High Court has ruled that the then NI Environment Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, unlawfully changed planning policy in two ministerial statements to the Assembly in May and June of last year.  Mr Justice Treacy ordered the ministerial statements to be quashed.  From the BBC report …lawyers for the Department of the Environment argued the statements merely offered clarification and guidance within an existing and well established policy framework and did not amount to a change …

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“there was good news and bad news…”

The still-Northern Ireland Finance Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, won’t be making a formal statement to the Assembly until September, but he’s written to MLAs to inform them of the NI Executive’s decisions about this year’s additional cuts in departmental budgets.  From the Belfast Telegraph report In a letter penned to MLAs he said: “The main issue facing the Executive in this round was how best to address the £127.8m reduction in funding arising as a consequence of the announcement made by …

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Hearts and Minds: Cameron, Parades and Human Rights…

By all accounts Eamonn McCann is on classic form (he’s up and down to Belfast all this week as Raytheon comes back to the Law Courts, claiming the new parades legislation breaches our basic human rights. Despite Cameron’s visit o we have any real idea of what’s in store for Northern Ireland from the Coalition? Finance Minister Sammy Wilson is put on the spot. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet …

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