The budget for the fiscal year 2010 was delivered by Minister of Finance Brian Lenihan on December 9^th 2009.

 

The following are details of the budget statement:

 

 

 

 

 

Relief on service charges remains unchanged. A maximum of € 400 tax relief is granted (at 20% tax rate) in 2010 for service charges paid in the year 2009.

The limit of the exemption from income tax, which applies to rent, received, where a person rents out a room or rooms in his or her principal private residence, remains unchanged at € 10,000.

 

 

The tax rate remains unchanged at 20% (standard rate) and 41% (higher rate).

 

The table below sets out the tax rates and bands:

 

 

 

 

 

There is no change to the exemption limits for persons aged 65 and over:

 

 

Marginal Relief will continue to apply where income does not greatly exceed the relevant exemption limit.

 

The above exemption limits are increased by € 575 for each of the first two dependent children and by € 830 for the third and subsequent children.

 

Health expenses relief is granted at the standard rate for expenses incurred from 1 January 2009 with the exception of nursing home expenses, which continue to be relieved at the marginal rate.

The rate and thresholds of the Income Levy remain unchanged.

 

Qualifying loans taken out before 1 July 2011 will continue to get relief for 7 years. Transitional measures will be provided for qualifying loans taken out between 1 July 2011 and the end of 2013.

 

Those whose entitlements to relief would, in the absence of this change, expire on 2010 or after, will continue to qualify for relief at the applicable rate up until the end of 2017.

 

The relief will be abolished completely by the end of 2017.

The standard rate of Value Added Tax will be decreased from 21.5% to 21% with effect from 1 January 2010. This decrease will apply to all goods and services, which are currently subject to Value Added Tax at 21.5%

The 3 year corporate and capital exemption scheme for start up companies, introduced in 2009, has been extended to new start up companies in 2010.

 

 

From 10^th December additional carbon charges, of € 34.38 per 1,000 litres and € 39.98 per 1,000 litres, are added to the rates of mineral oil tax for petrol and auto diesel respectively.

 

Excise duties on all alcohol products are being reduced with effect from midnight on 9^th of December 2009. The reductions, when Value Added Tax is included, amount to:

Ø      12 cent on a pint of standard beer and cider

Ø      8 cent on a 33cl bottle of beer (4.7% alcohol content)

Ø      60 cent on a standard 75cl bottle of wine

Ø      14 cent on a standard measure of spirits

Ø      €2.76 on a standard 70cl bottle of spirits ( 40% alcohol content)

 

Pro rata reductions are being applied to other alcohol products.

The scheme of accelerated capital allowances for energy0effcient equipment for companies has been enhanced to include 3 new categories of equipment.

The budget provided for a scrappage scheme that will run from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 to 31 December 2010. This scheme provides VRT relief of up to € 1,500 on registration of a new passenger car with CO2 emissions of not more than 140g/km when another passenger car, more than 10 years old is scrapped. The old car, which must have been registered for at least the previous 18 months in the name of the person registering the new car, must be scrapped at an Authorised Treatment Facility and a Certificate of Destruction issued. Other conditions relating to the scheme are available on the Revenue website.