Bernard O'Shea's quick and painless seven-point guide to the budget
Bernard O'Shea: "Every year, it’s the same song and dance. The treats get pricier; the wallets get lighter." Photo: Moya Nolan
Budget day in Ireland is longer than the opening credits of a blockbuster Hollywood movie. It’s a marathon of numbers, percentages, and economic jargon every year.
Media outlets, politicians, and experts will dissect every detail from dawn to dusk. But if you’re anything like me — an economic philistine who values simplicity (explain it to me like I’m a five-year-old) — you’re not looking to drown in details. You want the meat and potatoes, not the whole farm.
That’s why I’ve crafted this guide that’ll take just three minutes to read. Because, frankly, that’s probably as long as I’d spend reading about the budget myself!
Tax! The mere mention of the word makes my eyes glaze over, but stick with me. The government is slicing the Universal Social Charge (USC) like a hot knife through butter. Imagine having a little more jingle in your pocket; that’s what it means. The higher income tax rate is also climbing up to €42,000. If you’re earning just below that, in plain English, you’re keeping more of your hard-earned cash.
Welfare’s getting a bit of a bump up. Core welfare payments are increasing by €12. It’s not the €30 some folks were hoping for, but it’s something.
Navigating the world of ECB and tax breaks made me feel like deciphering some ancient hieroglyphics. I’ve heard about the “ECB” and nod knowingly in conversations as if I had a bull notion about what it was or is. The ECB, or European Central Bank, is the big boss of money in Europe, setting the rules on interest — the extra money we pay back when borrowing. I imagine a cookie monster named ECBikkies taking a few cookies from my jar every month as a "cookie fee." When the monster gets greedier, I’m left with fewer treats.
But here’s the silver lining. The government introduced "Mortgage Interest Relief". It’s a golden ticket letting you keep up to €1,250 of your money away from the taxman, despite the cookie monster’s growing appetite. It’s not an endless jar of cookies but a sprinkle of fairy dust, making the loss easier to swallow.
For the scholars among us, student fees are a hot topic. While the bigwigs are still hashing out the details, a €300 increase in the academic grant is on the cards. And for the first time, postgrad students, you’re getting a look in with grants of up to €2,384.
With energy prices soaring higher than Dublin rents, the government’s offering a bit of a lifeline. Energy credits are expected to drop, but there’s still a saving of €450 on the horizon. It’s like finding a forgotten tenner in your winter coat — a pleasant surprise, but you are not exactly going to leave the immersion on all night with it.
Further cuts to public transport fares are in the works. It’s not a golden carriage, but a step closer to making your daily commute less of a wallet-drainer.
Renters you’re getting a leg up with the Renters Tax Credit jumping to €750. Parents keep an eye on the post; a double payment of child benefit is coming your way faster than a kid running towards a soft play centre.
There’s one thing we can always count on — cigarettes inching upwards. It’s as predictable as a soap opera plot twist. A pack of 20 now costs close to €17, and next year, vaping will go the way of tobacco and be taxed presumably quite heavily.
Every year, it’s the same song and dance. The treats get pricier; the wallets get lighter. While the price of cigarettes rises, we’re spared the annual hike on the beloved pint and petrol. It’s like a dance where the steps are known, and the music is a familiar tune of life’s little luxuries and the taxman’s unyielding grasp.
But something in my gut tells me that tricks might well outdo treats as sugar is possibly next on the treats and tax agenda.
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