April 7th, what do you think were in for?

wylo

So what do you reckon the Brians will have waiting for us on this dreaded day? More public sector paycuts? Fags up by 2 euro? Dole dropped by a tenner?
I personally think they should keep the tenner tax for leaving the country, however drop airport charges in Dublin, it will keep the likes of Ryanair happy for a while, because jobs are being lost fast in that area.

I dont think they should have brought the dole up by 7 euro in the first place, so I think they should bring that back down again to what it was, but Im worried they'll drop it by even more causing some unrest.
Do you think they'll have any surprises for us?

1huge1

While I wouldn't call it much of a suprise at this stage im expecting a decrease in the Vat rate and some other incentives to get the retail sector going again. Whether it will work is another thing.

Increases in tax on petrol and cigarettes but I'm not so sure about alcohol, think there's a good chance that will be left untouched as it is a huge market in Ireland that is already in decline.

I'd say there's also a good possibility of a new upper limit tax band being introduced.

Agree with wylo though in that a decrease in the level of dole is likely, I believe they'll be putting a lot more effort into who deserves how much etc

ateam

Increase in cigarettes, alcohol and petrol.

Increase in income tax rates.

Doubtful whether they'll have the guts to touch social welfare payments, the media is here is very do gooder ish.

is_that_so

My thoughts.

2% on lower rate , 3% on higher rate, new "temporary" rate of 48% and widening of tax bands to take in more lower-paid. May come in later in year or Jan 2010. Initially another levy to try and get that income.
Possible elimination of PRSI ceiling.
Excise increase on alcohol , cigs(50c) and fuel (8c on petrol and 4c on diesel)
Freezing of all SW payments and possible reduction in jobseeker rates.
That text messaging tax.
Any infrastructure that can be mothballed will be.
Some loose attempts to close off tax loopholes for properties, although more likely to be vague on how and what.
One off property levy €200 on all properties(guessing but not impossible). As The Commission on Taxation will be reporting later in year they won't put a permanent one.
I reckon child benefit will become taxable income when the commission reports.
I also reckon third level fees are pretty much a given.
Swingeing cuts in every area, except perhaps education.

nesf

2% on both Tax bands.
PRSI ceiling removed.
No third band.
Core Social Welfare payments (i.e. Dole and Pension) left untouched but ancillary payments reduced (i.e. rent relief etc)
Freezing of some NDP projects or downward revisions due to wage/land cost reductions.

Not so sure about other stuff.

Another mess of a budget I think, bad idea if they put petrol and diesel up, because if they do everything will go up.

Martyr

thats a nice little stealth tax, hellboy

johnnyrotten

Don't think the rates will be touched but i think the income levy will be increased to 4 or 5 %. This could be implemented immediately , whereas a rate increase or band adjustment would take weeks to sort out.

Cigs up by €1
Petrol / Diesel up 10c a litre
10 c on a pint
€10 drop in SW
€10 drop in Child benefit
Car tax increase
Possible car scrappage scheme
maybe rethink in VAT ( drop to 18%)

Kensington

I imagine:

2% on both the lower and higher tax bands, third band of 48% on €100,000 plus
1% income levy on ALL income, min. wage included
Bringing EVERYONE into a tax band
Child benefit will take a hit, including possibly narrowing the age brackets
Social welfare will take a hit also, in line with deflation
Text tax
2% decrease in VAT rate, in attempt to narrow the gap between ROI and NI
Increase on the old reliable cigarettes, alcohol and fuel
Further increase in registration fees for college entry in 2009, and full blown fees in 2010

Whatever way it goes, one thing's for certain - we're all going to be taking it up the rear end one way or the other...

blast05

Don't think the rates will be touched but i think the income levy will be increased to 4 or 5 %.

Agreed, would be too complicated and messy to change the rates in effectively mid year so increased levy for rest of 2009 and revised rates for 2010 on.

Also, i don't understand how they envisage having everyone paying taxes without slashing the tax credit everyone gets.
To have a part time worker on say 10K brought into the tax nett would require a complete slashing of of the personal PAYE tax credit by over €1500 which would impact everybody and would instantly raise around 2 billion without any other raises or anything else.

Ultimately, whatever about tax increases, i really hope that at least 70% of the 4.5 billion they want to save/raise comes from public sector savings rather than tax increases.

Tech3

Martyr wrote: »

thats a nice little stealth tax, hellboy

I dont think many people found the 8c a litre stealthy tax when it was announced in the last budget. Diesel should be reduced if we want the cost of living to go down even further.

nesf

johnnyrotten wrote: »

Don't think the rates will be touched but i think the income levy will be increased to 4 or 5 %. This could be implemented immediately , whereas a rate increase or band adjustment would take weeks to sort out.

I agree completely, when I say 2% on both bands I mean an income levy for this year that matches that with a planned transition to 2% on both rates for 2010.