Tax increases 'postpone the evil day'

Pat McArdle, Chief Economist at Ulster Bank Group has said that the Minister for Finance's forecast for economic growth "looks optimistic", and warns that tax revenue will be lower than expected next year.

Mr MacArdle said: "Overall the Minister was less ambitious than we expected. His growth forecasts looks optimistic - tax revenue will likely disappoint in 2009 and in the remainder of 2008 - and the 6.5% Budget deficit means that he has €12bn to claw back in coming years. We have a long way to go.