Wednesday 14 October 2015

Budget 2016 was delivered by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin in the Dáil yesterday.

Key Points from Budget 2016

Universal Social Charge

Entry threshold to USC to rise from €12,012 to €13,000. The 1.5% rate reduced to 1% for first €12,012 of income, while 3.5% rate drops to 3% on increased threshold of €18,668. The top rate of 7% reduced to 5.5% for income in excess of €18,668 up to €70,044.

Excise Duty on Cigarettes

Excise on pack of 20 cigarettes to increase by 50c, making most cigarette packs cost €10.50 from midnight tonight.

Childcare, Child Benefit and Children's GP Care

Early Childcare and Education scheme to be extended which will see free childcare for children aged three up until they are five and half, or until they begin primary school. Child benefit to increase by €5 to €140 per month for every child. Free GP Care extended to all children under 12 years of age.

Pensions

Pensions to increase by €3 per week for recipients aged 66 and over.

Other Welfare and grants: Christmas Bonus, Fuel Allowance and Respite Care Grant

Christmas bonus for people in receipt of social welfare increased to 75%; Fuel Allowance to increase by €2.50 per week; and Respite Care Grant is restored to €1,700.

Carer Tax Credit, Self-employed and Small Business Owner Tax Credit

Carer tax credit increased by €190 to €1,000 per year, while a €550 tax credit is introduced for small business owners and the self employed.

Minimum Wage

Minimum wage increased from €8.65 to €9.15 per hour from 1 January 2016. 

Capital Acquisitions Tax and Capital Gains Tax

CAT Group A tax free threshold for transfers between parents and their children raised from €225,000 to €280,000. Revised Capital Gains Tax relief from 2016 sees reduced rate of 20% for disposal in whole or part of a business up to an overall limit of €1m in chargeable gains.

Teacher and Garda Recruitment

2,260 new additional teaching posts, including 600 new resource teachers. Furthermore there will be an extra 610 special needs assistants.

Pupil teacher ratio at primary schools to be reduced from 28 to 1 to 27 to 1, secondary level ratio to fall from 19 to 1 to 18.7 to 1.

Funding announced to recruit and train an additional 600 gardaí.

Pension Fund Levy

The remaining pension fund levy of 0.15% introduced in 2014 and 2015 will end this year and will not apply in 2016.

ATM and Debit Card Charges

12c charge to be introduced on ATM transactions as a replacement for the current €5 stamp duty on debit and ATM cards.

Commercial Motor Tax

The maximum rate of commercial motor tax will be €900 per annum, down from €5,195.

New Residential Housing and Emergency Accommodation

NAMA to deliver a target of 20,000 residential units before the end of 2020, while 90% of the units will be in the greater Dublin area.  About 75% of these units will be houses, mainly starter homes. There is also increase in the current allocation for emergency accommodation of homeless people by an additional €17m.

The current allocation for social housing will be increased by €69m to €414m, while €10m to be made available from the proceeds of the sale of Bord Gáis for an affordable housing pilot scheme.

Paternity Leave

Introduction of statutory paternity leave of two weeks, to take effect in September 2016.

Transfer of Farm Ownership

Income tax credit worth up to €5,000pa for five years to be allocated to partnerships and split according to profit-share agreement.