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Tag: economics

Report of Comptroller and Auditor General Published

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General for 2011 has been published. In relation to tax and Revenue it includes a number of interesting points:
• Income tax receipts increased by a net €2.5 billion (bn) in 2011 when compared with 2010, reflecting the introduction of the Universal Social Charge (USC) and the reduction in tax bands and credits.
• Tax forecasting has been made more difficult with the emergence of significant corporation tax losses. The utilisation of losses in 2010 is estimated to have reduced potential corporation tax receipts by €2.75bn.
• A new debt analysis tool was introduced on a pilot basis in February to allow Revenue case workers prioritise the recovery of debt by reference to the age of the debt. It also allows them to determine the type and timing of interventions to maximise recovery.
• Total tax outstanding at the end of March 2012 was just under €2bn. The two largest categories of debt outstanding are income tax and VAT. Overall, about one third of the debt outstanding was under appeal.
• 3 economic sectors accounted for 59% of the total tax written off in 2011; construction, wholesale and retail trade and accommodation and food services. The majority of these write offs arose due to liquidations and the trade ceasing with insufficient liquid assets
Thanks to the Institute of Tax for the above summary.

BUDGET 2012: THE DIE WILL BE CAST

As Cliff Taylor, Editor of The Sunday Business Post, notes: who needs to raise income tax when you can introduce levy after levy with the same effect? Of course, this is an old refrain readers of the Noone Casey round-up will be very familiar with. Taylor argues the Government has no choice, given the hairshirt demanded by the bailout.

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PENSION SLOW DOWN

Investment in group and self-employed pensions slumped last year amid an overall decrease of 11% in new business, according to the latest figures from The Irish Insurance Federation.

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THE CASH ECONOMY

On a single page, The Sunday Business Post manages to answer the question posed in its own headline: Has cash lost its lustre? The answer is clear – NO!

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SALE OF STATE ASSETS

The cabinet is to consider a report in the coming days that recommends the sale of state companies and assets with a book value of €5 billion, The Sunday Business Post reports.

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GOVERNMENT DEBT

The cost of the recession and bank bailout is pushing our economy to breaking point. Latest forecasts from the Department of Finance estimate our debt to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio at 111% by 2013. Stockbroker forecasts believe this is an underestimate and forecasts range from 114% to 120% of GDP by 2013-14.

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THE JOBS BUDGET

The government is to unveil its so-called ‘Jobs Budget’ in May, shortly before the arrival of Queen Elizabeth and President Obama, The Sunday Independent reports.

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EVEN MORE BANK CAPITAL REQUIRED

Concerns are growing that more money will be needed to bail out Ireland’s beleaguered banking sector, particularly AIB, when the results of stress tests are announced formally at the end of the month, The Sunday Business Post reports.

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PESKY DEMOCRATS & THE PRICE OF OIL

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, along come those pesky would-be democrats in the Arab world and send the price of oil spiralling. Still, it’s an ill wind as usual and the crises throughout the Middle East and North Africa will likely keep an awful lot of pundits in business for an awfully long time.

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IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID

Many election promises seem destined to be broken at the best of times but in the worst of times, they are likely to gather dust on the shelves of the parties’ headquarters whether there is a will to implement them or not.

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COST OF LIVING

The feel-good mantra peddled by the Government about how the real cost of living is the same as 2006 has been punctured by the latest figures for groceries.

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OUR RULERS STILL HAVE NO CLOTHES

Too optimistic. Astonishing. Bizarre. Putative. Writing in The Sunday Times, columnist Damien Kiberd might well have just used a phrase like ‘plain bonkers’ to describe Government projections for its tax intake over the next few years.

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THE BLACK ECONOMY

Taxi drivers, ethnic shops, ebay sellers, market stall holders, fast food outlets and couriers are among those being targeted by the Revenue in a crackdown on the now burgeoning ‘shadow’ economy, according to The Sunday Business Post.

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