Nigel Watson

Husband, father, son, brother...and a wee bit of cycling

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

🧵on my thoughts

Tl:dr - great debate..I’m probably in the @andrew_trimble @DearbhailDibs @Saraita101 “space”

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[Upfront with Katie Hannon @RTEUpfront]

Tonight on #cblive:

A United Ireland - what would it mean?

Claire will be joined by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald....

...and Joe Brolly, Ian Paisley Jr., Naomi Long, Andrew Trimble among others

*9.35pm* on RTÉ One

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@BaronoftheMaine Why?

He vote will go up

[Cut My Tax @CutMyTaxUK]

Tax allowances have been stuck in the permafrost, sometimes for decades, reports a study by the Association of Taxation Technicians

Absurdly the £3,000 annual gift exemption for inheritance tax purposes — hasn't changed since 1981. In today’s money it would be worth almost four times as much or £11,800

The inheritance tax threshold has been stuck at £325,000 for 17 years ago and is now frozen until 2031. If it had risen with inflation, it would be around £525,000, 60% more.

The rent-a-room scheme allowance has been frozen at £7,500 since 2016. It should be £10,500 today.

If the higher rate income tax threshold was not frozen at £50,270, it would reach £70,000 by 2030.

All these allowances and thresholds should be legislated with a built-in inflation adjuster such that they increase automatically in line with inflation each year.

US tax thresholds are raised automatically each year in line with inflation. That's a key reason why US thresholds are so much higher than British ones. You have to earn $640,600 in the US in order to pay the top income tax rate of 37%. In Britain, the figure is almost 10 times less. Here earn just $66,000 US dollars (£50,270) and you start paying a 40% tax rate.

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@bernardmccabe Totally agree…

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@Choyaa13 @ashstronge Mileage is for car related costs…electricity/petrol is quite small part…

[Will Slattery @slatterywill]

Whether it's Aviva fatigue, style of play or knockout fatigue, the fall in Leinster's crowd since 2024 is stark

Champions Cup L16

2024 40,775
2026 21,491

Champions Cup QF

2024 50,055
2026 18,839

Champions Cup SF

2024 82,300
2026 38,555

URC QF

2024 18,174
2026 9,493

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@bbcnewsline Not generally an MLA defender…but…

[Darran Marshall @DarranMarshall]

CSO: Disposable income 13% higher in Republic than in Northern Ireland. https://t.co/yAmMGu75vi

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

“Brexit Galaxy brain” latest 😵‍💫😵‍💫

[Nigel Dodds @NigelDoddsDUP]

Today, I will introduce my Bill in the Lords to remove the Irish Sea border, protect the UK Single Market, and avoid a hard border. As Govt pursues a “reset” with the EU, here’s the way to safeguard the Union and Brexit.

https://t.co/2LcFEoWlQn
#Brexit #NorthernIreland #Union

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@KarlBrophy Is “we’re JOINING” (“properly”) not a LOT simpler than discussing a whole load of stuff that may/not happen after “the negotiations”?

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@dmcbfs Good to hear😎

[Matthew O'Toole @MatthewOToole2]

It need not be all about flags, emblems or relitigating history.

It can be about reconnecting an island and meeting the challenges of the 21st century more effectively together than apart.

Beyond the clickbait, some thoughts on the future of Ireland in yesterday's @IrishTimes

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@BrianKingston Indeed John Hume…

Or as unionism described him “a dangerous extremist”

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@smccarthynire Your politics are not mine (mirror image perhaps?)…

“Horatio” represents a very large part of unionism…

“NI - a Protestant state for a Protestant people”…

I’m not entirely sure why you engage with an anon troll like him…

You stood for elected office - a thankless task👏👏

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@timcairns This seems entirely correct

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@NewtonEmerson If you say so

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@NewtonEmerson Rathmullan - Ramelton - Milford…

It’s had more spent on water infra than all of NI

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@NewtonEmerson Indeed…

How’s NI going with Lough Neagh?…Peace Walls?…water infra?

The answer (sadly, genuinely sadly) is NI is just a failure…

“We’re not killing ourselves…” isn’t really enough anymore

[Nigel Watson @NigelAWatson]

@KeelanLpr Historically it’s my aunt’s (Ahoghill) who don’t like Paisley…

Not sure what the update looks like😵‍💫