The Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Finance Minister Michael Noonan have publicly stated there will be no increase in income tax in 2014. They have not kept this promise as a vulnerable section of society discovered in January of this year.

Tax specialist Deloitte has hinted at marginal increases in both capital gains and capital acquisition tax levels in next month’s budget, but has added it would be prudent of the Government to stick with a full €3.1bn adjustment for 2014.

According to A Leavy (Letters, Aug 5) the Government is borrowing €1bn every month to keep the public services going.

The expert group appointed by the State to examine the taxation system specifically recommended against taxing maternity benefit.

THE Government thinks we are too thick to understand the site value tax.

The property tax is fraught with potential flash points.

A tax expert has said the proposed new property tax should perhaps be deferred until 2014.

JIMMY CARR, the comedian who made his career out of politically incorrect one-liners, found himself the butt of jokes last week after his “morally wrong” tax avoidance was splashed all over the papers.

COUNTING the cost of local government usually takes the form of berating the excessive numbers of councillors and the expenses they incur.

THE real scandal about the household charge is not its imminent implementation but, rather, the fact that successive governments failed to introduce a property tax years ago.

Two new members have been appointed to the board of the key strategy devising National Asset Management Agency Advisory Group by the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan.

Landlords from the Irish Property Owners’ Association have said a new levy as suggested by Social Protection Minister Joan Burton would be another penalty on them.

Rental profits and dividends are being considered for additional tax in the budget, it has been

RYANAIR chief Michael O’Leary believes children’s allowance should be scrapped as it is subsidising people to have sex.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny today insisted that no decisions have yet been made in relation to cuts to welfare in the upcoming Budget.

Reports of a proposal to cut €10 from Child Benefit have caused some concern amongst Labour TDs.

There is increased speculation that the Government is to slash Child Benefit in next month's Budget.

IN ALL my 45 years as a public representative, I have never witnessed until now the mental strain and anxiety amongst the business community as they struggle financially to meet rents, rates, leases and income tax. This mental strain has sent many of them to an early grave.

THE fallout from the budget continued last night with the Government being accused of robbing the poor to protect the rich and those who had caused Ireland’s problems with their reckless gambling with banks.

CONSUMERS will feel the pinch after tomorrow’s budget with hikes expected on the “old reliables” and the removal of certain tax reliefs.

IRISH Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) president Jackie Cahill believes that with the proper incentives, farming and the agri-business sector can drive Ireland’s economic recovery.

THE mums of the Li’l Rascals Playgroup have a few misperceptions they’d like to clear up.

THE ending or tightening of tax reliefs on pension contributions and mortgage interest could be key to saving the Government €13.5bn over four years, an expert has suggested.

MISCALCULATIONS by the Department of Finance has left the working poor out of pocket when they could have received the benefits of refunded tax credits, a non-profit organisation claims.

THIS weekend marks the official holiday exodus of our public policy makers.

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan has questioned whether the country could cope with the introduction of a property tax in the short-term.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has decided not to proceed with the implementation of a property tax in December's Budget, according to reports this morning.

THE Government needs to maintain capital investment in infrastructure to prevent the construction sector from meltdown, according to Davy economist Rossa White.

HOMEOWNERS have been hit by a new bin tax double-whammy as Finance Minister Brian Lenihan moved to squeeze more money out of the contentious charge.

PROMISES in the budget that the rich would “pay their fair share” have been sidestepped in the newly published Finance Bill, the opposition claimed last night.

THE nitty-gritty of December’s brutal budget has at last been spelled out in the cold and unwieldy language of the Finance Bill 2010.

EQUITY is one of our core health system principles, meaning that care is provided on the basis of need and not on ability to pay.

HOMEOWNERS facing a property tax announced in this week’s budget could face a second “valuation” charge through the building of a national database on homes.

THE reduction in excise duty on alcohol will go a little way towards reducing the numbers of Republic- based shoppers going North for bargains and will greatly aid Irish retailers, according to the IBEC-affiliated industry representative body, Retail Ireland.

RATHER like a terminal illness, no matter how rational the expectation, the final act is somewhat shocking. This budget was comprehensively leaked to the media over the past week.

Calling off the one-day strike scheduled for today was a welcome development, but there must be no more procrastination in tackling the vital issues involved. Nobody wants to see people made unemployed, but we have to be realistic. The public sector has to be the right size for us as a nation.

Social Justice Ireland today called on the Government to reform the taxation system with the target of raising the total tax take to 34.9% of GDP, from the current level of 27.4% which is among the lowest in the European Union.

A Minister who stays overnight in a hotel while in Dublin is entitled to claim for maintenance under the dual abode perk, on top of their other expenses claims.

INVESTORS got millions of euro of tax breaks to build private hospitals which may not meet future quality and safety standards, it has emerged.

THE head of the state tourism board has warned that the Government’s controversial air travel tax will result in net losses of more than €30m to the Irish economy each year.

IN recent months there has been considerable public debate on issues relating to Government expenditure cuts, our economic recovery and the need to protect Ireland’s most vulnerable groups.

HIGHLY paid officials in the Central Bank and other financial institutions have no right to argue for social welfare cuts, according to Fr Sean Healy of Social Justice Ireland.