The budget is mere weeks away and the finance minister attended his first Scale Ireland pre-budget event “to listen, to engage and get feedback”. There was a lot to listen to.
Payments delayed by changes to the tech giant’s subsidiary structure earlier in the year have now landed in state coffers, boosting the Exchequer surplus as the Government makes key pre-election budgetary decisions.
The first publication by the budgetary watchdog after UCC’s Seamus Coffey returned to head it up is a vibrant plea to resurrect the 5 per cent spending rule in the next budget.
Capital acquisitions tax has emerged as a political issue for the first time since the financial crisis. Forvis Mazars tax partner Alan Murray examines the factors in budget decisions on inheritance tax.
Tasked with examining possible tweaks to CGT relief for small landlords, the Tax Strategy Group said it is best to bed in and wait for more data. No one wants a repeat of the furore over the latest landlord income tax break.
In its last budget before an election, the Government’s bet is that voters want to pay less income tax and access a better health service. Other demands will have to wait.
Targeted investment in infrastructure can demonstrably deliver social inclusion and bridge the remaining gaps in an otherwise healthy economy. Can the Government listen to this advice in an election year?
Budget Day was initially disappointing, with red tape keeping tax measures intended to support start-ups accessible only to large corporations. But amendments to the Finance Bill show the mood music is changing.
The budget is making funding available for both short-term and long-term investments in Ireland's sustainability. Two questions help assess its promises: Is it enough? And is it fair?
It was notable that the two themes that have dominated political discourse in recent years – housing and health – were not the dominant themes in the budget. With an election on the horizon, the Government wants to focus attention elsewhere.
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