Irish Income Tax To Rise 2%, Experts Suggest

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

10 December 2002

In the wake of Irish Finance Minister, Charlie McCreevy's recent budget, analysts have suggested that - despite Mr McCreevy's protestations to the contrary - direct income taxes may increase by around 2% for some of the Republic's taxpayers.

Reporting at the weekend, the Sunday Business Post announced that:

'McCreevy's decision to apply the full rate of PRSI and Health Levy tax to benefit-in-kind income - such as company cars - was the same as raising income tax by two percentage points for many earners.'

The newspaper went on to add that a pledge to apply the taxes to as wide a range of benefits in kind as possible, contained within the notes which accompanied the Finance Minister's budget speech, is likely to mean that: 'the Revenue Commissioners will try to extend the tax to everything from the use of company mobile phones to air miles.'

The Sunday Business Post report also quoted Bank of Ireland chief economist, Dan McLaughlin as observing that the measure, set to take effect in January 2004, was a 'secret time bomb' lurking in the small print of Mr McCreevy's budget speech.

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