The Rapple Verdict ; Cowen Overdid the Poor Mouth. We Are Far From Being a Financial Basket Case. The Deficit Will Only Be 0.9pc of Our National Income

Summary

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LAST year Brian Cowen wooed us with almost EUR 1bil-lion of income tax cuts. This year, in the wake of the election, hes giving less than half that, a little short of whats needed to keep pace with inflation.

Most of us will end up paying more of our income in tax during 2008 than we did in 2007. Get a pay increase of five per cent and it may translate into a 4.7 per cent increase in take-home pay.

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The Rapple Verdict ; Cowen Overdid the Poor Mouth. We Are Far From Being a Financial Basket Case. The Deficit Will Only Be 0.9pc of Our National Income

Social welfare improvements are less miserly but short of the largesse shown last year. That package is to cost EUR 520million compared with EUR 744million last year. Increases of EUR 12 to EUR 14 will provide real ...

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