Tax cuts and social welfare increased – what to expect in the upcoming budget

Budget 2019 is to be announced tomorrow.

As the Irish public wait to see what the upcoming budget has in store, there are indicators suggesting that there will be good news for many. This comes in the way of tax breaks and an increase to social welfare. The housing crisis is also to take precedent. The Taoiseach has said that he wants to address rate bands when it comes to income tax, more specifically when tax payers begin to pay the higher tax rate. Last year it was changed meaning that a single earner being charged the higher rate of tax increased from €33,800 to €34,550 and for one income married couples from €42,800 to €43,550 .The change meant that anyone earning under these amounts is now only charged the normal rate of tax and websites like Money Guide Ireland predict that Varadkar may extend this further. This widening of the tax brackets would mean that those on middle incomes would see a significant reduction in the amount of annual tax that they are paying. Fine Gael have also said that they would like to see an adjustment of the USC bands. Another thing expected to be seen in the budget is an increase in social welfare payments, the most talked about issue of course being the return of the Christmas bonus. There are also plans to increase to all social welfare payments by €5 a week. A topic close to a lot of parents, childcare, is said to be a top priority with improvements planned for parental leave conditions and childcare provisions. The housing and homeless crisis is the most pressing issue, especially after last week's protests and how affordable housing fits into the 2019 budget will be of interest to many in the country. This year's budget is one that the public will be watching closely as there is an additional €800 million to be spent on the county. Ireland took one of the heaviest fallouts during the recession and while the country has recovered in many ways, there is still a large percentage of the population struggling to make ends meet. All eyes are now on the government to see what improvements will be made to the quality of life in Ireland and if the largest issues, particularly housing, will finally be given a solution that works.