Archive for October 6th, 2009

Irish Credit Card Stamp Duty’s Explained

A stamp duty is a tax the government imposes on certain legal documents. The stamp duty on Irish credit cards and charge cards is for ?30 per year per account. Charge cards are like credit cards except there is no interest because you pay it off at the end of the month. The word “stamp” is a holdover from the days when an actual physical stamp was attached to a document to prove that the duty had been paid. Ireland is the only country that has a credit card stamp duty.

It is important to note that multiple cards attached to one account, such as an account where both spouses have a copy of the credit card, only one stamp duty is imposed. If you transfer a credit card account from one issuer to another, you can avoid paying the stamp duty again as long as you close the old account and have documentation from the account you’re closing saying so.

If only a quarter of the credit cards in Ireland were attached to unique accounts, it would add up to over ?20 million in credit card stamp duty income per year. In 2007,Ireland had more than double the amount of cards that it had in 1997, this is more than 2.3 million credit cards in circulation.

However, with debit laser cards and ATM cards the duty is affixed on every card rather than every account. For these cards, the tax is ?10 on every ATM card or debit laser card, or ?20 annually on every combined Laser/ATM card.

While you may complain at having to prove that you have previously forked out for the credit card stamp duty once this year if you’ve swapped cards, or if you think that it’s too much bother, just imagine the amount of extra money that the Irish Government would receive if more people thought like you, ?30 million in a year for no good reason.

Same thing with the duties on ATM and debit laser cards. If nobody bothered disputing the stamp duty if they switched cards after having paid the tax for the year, the government would rake in an extra ?10 million. There’s no sense in trying to get out of paying the stamp duty, but at the same time there’s no reason for you to pay it twice in a year if you don’t have to.

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Learn The Initial Steps To Credit Repair

Life can be frustrating when you have bad credit. Lots of times people with bad credit are denied a number of the things that others enjoy. When you have bad credit it seems like it can be so difficult to get ahead. Time heals all wounds, as well as credit problems, so you can wait it out or there are some steps you can take to improve or even repair your credit.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA is a federal law that was enacted by Congress in 1970. It gives consumers the right to know about and dispute inaccuracies and inconsistencies on their credit report. It as well gives consumers the right to receive one free report from each of the big three credit bureaus one time per year. An amendment in the year 2003 made this once yearly report free of charge.

Your very first step when it comes to repairing your credit is to get a copy of this free credit report. There are many online websites and even commercials on TV that tell you where you can get your report. Just remember that one report per year is free so don’t pay anyone for it. If you want additional reports you may have to pay for them.

When you have the report in your hand you need to carefully review it for inconsistencies and inaccuracies. It is projected that as many as 75% of all credit reports contain information that is wrong or inaccurate. You can dispute incorrect information and if it is not verified within a certain time period it must be totally removed from your report.

You have the right to dispute your credit and do whatever you can to fix and improve your credit. You can do it on your own or you can hire a professional company to help you out. In no way are you required to hire someone to help you and you may find that you would desire to do it on your own. However, the process can be frustrating and time-consuming and you may be thankful for the fact that someone else can help you get it completed. Hiring a skilled credit repair service is not something that you need to do but it is a advantage if you have too much on your plate as is and you could use the convenience of letting someone else handle it to get it done in a timely manner.

No matter if you hire a professional or do it yourself be aware that it is against the law to have fair and accurate information removed from your report. If the bad credit showing on your report is really all yours it may be better for you to just work at improving your overall financial situation and improving the credit you have now.

Carry out your research as you are trying to repair your credit because there are several things that may surprise you such as the fact that it may hurt you more to pay off an old charged-off debt than to leave it alone. The reason why is because the negative credit stays on your report from the date of the last activity and when you pay off an old charge-off the time it stays on your report starts anew.

There are various ways that you can improve your credit report and your credit rating. You can repair the inaccuracies and inconsistencies and you can take actions that will instantly improve your credit score. You have the right to know about and take part in your own credit history and you need to take advantage of that information if you have bad credit.

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