Michael Murray: The sustainability and growth prospects of dividends are not always as enticing as they look
Management short-termism needs to be distinguished from patient capital management and long-term returns
Not everyone is obsessed by dividends. One of the few “vindictive” measures in the budgets of the past five years was the application of 4 per cent PRSI to dividend income, which, when combined with the higher marginal tax rate and USC, results in an “all-in” levy on dividend income of about 50 per cent. And that does not take account of any irrecoverable withholding tax from foreign jurisdictions. Nasty!
Outside a pension ...
