Budget 2016
We have the main points of the Budget from the Dáil and from the press briefings giving more detail on Budget 2016.
Tax cuts, welfare increases, a new childcare package and a freezing of the local property tax are among the main components of Budget 2016.
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Here are the headline changes in the Budget:
* The top rate of USC will go from 7% to 5.5%, the middle will fall from 3.5% to 3% and the lower rate will stand down from 1.5% to 1%.
* Children will be eligible for free childcare from age of 3 until the age of five-and-a-half or until they start school.
* Two weeks’ paid paternity leave, from September 2016.
* Child benefit will rise by €5
* Free GP care for under 12s
* A €3 rise in pensions
* Christmas bonus up by 75% for social welfare recipients
* An extra 600 Gardaí and 2,260 teachers
* Commercial motor tax rates to be cut with 20 rates being replaced by five ranging from €92 to €900, current maximum is €5,195.
* A 50c rise in the minimum wage from €8.65 to €9.15 per hour.
* The 9% VAT rate on the Hospitality Sector will be maintained.
PRSI
Employee PRSI
A new weekly tapered PRSI credit of €12 is being introduced for employees insured at Class A whose earnings are between €352.01 and €424 in a week. A similar PRSI credit will apply to Class E and Class H employees with weekly earnings between €352.01 and €422 or €424, respectively.
The maximum PRSI credit of €12 per week applies to gross weekly earnings of €352.01. A person earning €352.01 pays €14.08 PRSI (4%). After the €12 credit is deducted they will pay PRSI of €2.08.
For people earning between €352.01 and €424, the credit of €12 is reduced by one-sixth of earnings over €352.01. For example, a person earning €377 would get a PRSI credit of €7.83 – this is one-sixth of the difference between €377 and €352.01 subtracted from the maximum credit of €12. There is no PRSI credit once earnings exceed €424 (January 2016). This provision will reduce the weekly PRSI bill for over 88,000 employees.
Employer PRSI
The lower 8.5% Class A rate of employer PRSI will apply to weekly earnings up to €376. This threshold will increase from the current €356 (January 2016). This provision will benefit 26,000 employers. These PRSI provisions will cost €21 million in 2016.
Excise duties
The excise duty on a packet of 20 cigarettes is increasing by 50 cent (including VAT) with a pro-rata increase on other tobacco products, with effect from midnight on 13 October 2015.
The rate of Motor Tax is being reduced for all vehicles above 4,000kgs, with a new annual rate of €500 for vehicle between 4,000kgs and 12,000kgs and €900 for vehicles over 12,000kgs.
We have the main points of the Budget from the Dáil and from the press briefings giving more detail on Budget 2016.
Tax cuts, welfare increases, a new childcare package and a freezing of the local property tax are among the main components of Budget 2016.
***
Here are the headline changes in the Budget:
* The top rate of USC will go from 7% to 5.5%, the middle will fall from 3.5% to 3% and the lower rate will stand down from 1.5% to 1%.
* Children will be eligible for free childcare from age of 3 until the age of five-and-a-half or until they start school.
* Two weeks’ paid paternity leave, from September 2016.
* Child benefit will rise by €5
* Free GP care for under 12s
* A €3 rise in pensions
* Christmas bonus up by 75% for social welfare recipients
* An extra 600 Gardaí and 2,260 teachers
* Commercial motor tax rates to be cut with 20 rates being replaced by five ranging from €92 to €900, current maximum is €5,195.
* A 50c rise in the minimum wage from €8.65 to €9.15 per hour.
* The 9% VAT rate on the Hospitality Sector will be maintained.
PRSI
Employee PRSI
A new weekly tapered PRSI credit of €12 is being introduced for employees insured at Class A whose earnings are between €352.01 and €424 in a week. A similar PRSI credit will apply to Class E and Class H employees with weekly earnings between €352.01 and €422 or €424, respectively.
The maximum PRSI credit of €12 per week applies to gross weekly earnings of €352.01. A person earning €352.01 pays €14.08 PRSI (4%). After the €12 credit is deducted they will pay PRSI of €2.08.
For people earning between €352.01 and €424, the credit of €12 is reduced by one-sixth of earnings over €352.01. For example, a person earning €377 would get a PRSI credit of €7.83 – this is one-sixth of the difference between €377 and €352.01 subtracted from the maximum credit of €12. There is no PRSI credit once earnings exceed €424 (January 2016). This provision will reduce the weekly PRSI bill for over 88,000 employees.
Employer PRSI
The lower 8.5% Class A rate of employer PRSI will apply to weekly earnings up to €376. This threshold will increase from the current €356 (January 2016). This provision will benefit 26,000 employers. These PRSI provisions will cost €21 million in 2016.
Excise duties
The excise duty on a packet of 20 cigarettes is increasing by 50 cent (including VAT) with a pro-rata increase on other tobacco products, with effect from midnight on 13 October 2015.
The rate of Motor Tax is being reduced for all vehicles above 4,000kgs, with a new annual rate of €500 for vehicle between 4,000kgs and 12,000kgs and €900 for vehicles over 12,000kgs.