Things have changed, apparently unexpectedly. The resignation of Louth TD Peter Fitzpatrick from Fine Gael on Monday does not automatically change events, but it may do so dramatically. 

Time to revisit the notion of ‘Tax Freedom Day’, writes Tom Healy.

Revenue penalties for incorrect tax returns are too severe, incentives for entrepreneurship are much less attractive than other EU countries and the cost of living is too high, business groups have told the Oireachtas Business Committee.

The Irish Tax Institute has said today's Budget will allow SMEs ot innovate "at a time when they are more at risk and need to diversify".

The Irish exchequer raises large amounts of tax from income and USC but personal tax cuts may mean few windfalls, figures from the Irish Tax Institute show.

THE business of the next week-and-a-half is budget making, writes Gerard Howlin. 

Economist Jim Power hopes Irish politics will not revert to type next month and offer up a populist budget lacking in any real long-term strategic perspective.

FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan yesterday defended the decision to phase out the €4bn-a-year USC between now and 2021. 

Donegal native Willie McAteer graduated from UCD with a BA in commerce and a master’s in business studies.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan will announce one of the largest ever pre-election giveaway budgets tomorrow, because his measures will effectively amount to €3bn, double the amount the Coalition has long advertised, one of the country’s top economists has said.

Lowering the cost of the Universal Social Charge by a percentage point for 1.28m taxpayers earning over €17,575 would cost the exchequer €364m, or over half of all the amount that Finance Minister Michael Noonan has indicated would be available for tax cuts in his pre-election budget next month.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

THE song should never have been a hit anywhere because its title was weird: ‘Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah’. (Translation: ‘Hello Mother, Hello Father’.) It should certainly never have been a hit in Ireland because the entire song was about something we didn’t have back in the 1960s: Summer camps.

The levels of Irish income tax are now among the highest in the EU and are acting as an impediment to attracting foreign direct investment, according to the Irish Tax Institute.

With just three weeks to go until Budget Day, the question of tax relief hangs over this morning’s Cabinet meeting.

A cut to the Universal Social Charge would benefit struggling families more than changes to the Income Tax system, according to the Irish Tax Institute.

US multinationals incorporated in Ireland should have their entire global operations taxed here, a leading academic has claimed.

A broader consultation process regarding long-term tax deadlines for small businesses and self-assessed payers, and the removal of late filing penalties, have been called for, in light of the Government postponing — rather than scrapping — proposed changes to the pay-and-file deadlines.

The Irish Tax Institute says the tax burden is spread unfairly across the working population.

New tips will be launched today to offer homeowners further guidance on how to properly assess their homes for the property tax.

Tax officials will be able to get warrants to inspect homes if they believe the owner is trying to avoid paying the property tax.

Q. What do I need to know about the local property tax?

There are a number of changes to the controversial Local Property Tax Bill, including exemptions for certain homeowners.

The economy has very limited ability to generate the additional taxes needed to achieve the €3.5 billion in fiscal consolidation agreed with the troika for December’s budget, says the Irish Tax Institute in its pre-budget submission.

Innovative measures to attract key personnel to head up new divisions of foreign and domestic companies will lead to the creation of more jobs here, the Irish Tax Institute has said.

IMPROVEMENTS to &research and development (R&D) tax credits have been welcomed as a means of growing both the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and multinational sectors.

Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin will today announce €2.2bn in public spending cuts, including a €700m reduction in welfare, health and education spending.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will prepare the country for a looming austerity Budget when he delivers an historic State of the Nation address tonight.

THE annual take-home pay of the average family has plummeted by €613 in the past three years and many are now close to a “tipping point”, taxation experts have warned.

Average workers are reaching a tipping point over the amount of tax they can pay, experts have said.

A WORK placement scheme for the unemployed, major reform of state employment services and a substantial loan guarantee scheme for SMEs feature prominently in a new job creation plan submitted to Government by employers’ representative body, IBEC.

THE Irish Taxation Institute has made jobcreation the focal point of its pre-budget submission to the Government.

A NEW board of the overhauled Abbey Theatre was announced yesterday by Arts Minister John O’Donoghue, in a move aimed at putting expertise in place to better manage the troubled national theatre.