Workers hold breath in hope of sizeable tax relief

Everyone has their own idea of what would constitute a generous Budget, from income tax cuts and tax credit hikes to a helping hand in the property market, writes Laura Slattery.

Mortgage interest rates are rising inexorably. Electricity and gas bills are soaring. And for most of the 1.1 million people who had the foresight to take out Special Savings Incentive Accounts, it is still a good five months before they will get their hands on the money.

Consumers who are feeling financially pressed this winter will be counting on two things to help offset these new drains on their pockets. The first is the national pay agreement, which gives workers a 10 per cent pay increase over a period of 27 months. The second is the hope that the Government, in the form of Minister for Finance Brian Cowen, will deliver a generous pre-election Budget.

The contents of Mr Cowen's speech next Wednesday will affect the net income, spending power and life decisions of almost everyone in the State.

The case studies opposite, compiled by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers on behalf of The Irish Times, outline how changes to social welfare benefits, tax reliefs and tax credits could either dent or boost the finances of six sample families as well as a single worker.

Each family will be waiting for the Minister to announce their own particular idea of what constitutes "tax justice", but almost all will hope to benefit from either an increase in personal tax credits or a widening of what is known as the standard rate tax band - the amount of money people can earn in a year before the kind people at the Revenue Commissioners step in and take a 42 per cent cut.

At the moment, a single person is taxed at the standard 20 per cent rate on the first €32,000 of their annual income. The balance is subject to the higher 42 per cent tax rate.

The Progressive Democrats have called for a cut in this top rate of tax to 40 per cent, but Mr Cowen is understood to be more minded to repeat the pattern of recent years and leave tax rates alone while increasing tax credits and the standard rate band.

As the national pay agreement wage increases kick in, workers will see a higher proportion of their income subject to the higher tax rate unless the standard rate tax band is significantly increased. If the standard rate tax band isn't bumped up at the same rate as average pay increases, it amounts to a stealth tax on workers.

Increasing the personal and PAYE tax credits (now known as an employee tax credit) also helps reduce workers' annual tax burden. Tax credits are attractive and simple: a €100 increase in a tax credit equals €100 into the hands of the taxpayer.

For example, a single worker earns an annual salary of €45,000. The first €32,000 of this income is subject to tax at 20 per cent, and the balance of €13,000 is taxed at 42 per cent.

This means the tax liability before any personal tax credits are applied is €11,860. Subtracting the personal tax credit, worth €1,630 in 2006, and the PAYE tax credit, worth €1,490 this year, means the total amount of income tax the worker will pay is €8,740.

If, for example, Mr Cowen was to increase the standard rate band by €4,000 to €36,000, the personal tax credit by €500 to €2,130 and the PAYE tax credit by, say, €100 to €1,590, the worker's tax bill would fall to €7,260 - or €1,480 less than this year.

In this situation, increases in the tax credits have boosted the worker's take-home pay by €600.

But the widening of the standard rate tax band - meaning that only €9,000 of the person's income is subject to tax at the 42 per cent rate - is even more important and is worth an annual €880.

On a monthly basis, the worker would take home €123 more.

Unfortunately, this is actually less than the amount a typical recent first-time buyer will have seen their mortgage repayments go up by in the past 12 months.

With a wonderful sense of timing, the governing council of the European Central Bank is scheduled to meet the day after the Budget and is expected to inflict another quarter-point interest rate hike on mortgage holders.

If this happens, it will be the sixth consecutive rate hike since last December, and homeowners with a mortgage of €250,000 over 25 years will have seen their loan repayments jump by more than €200 a month over the period, based on typical tracker mortgage rates.

It is little wonder then that pre-Budget speculation has centred on the possibility that Mr Cowen will announce some measures that will ease the burden of homeowners.

One issue that affects several of our hypothetical families in different ways is stamp duty on property. This tax, which is charged at rates of up to 9 per cent, has boosted the State's coffers spectacularly in recent years as a result of escalating house prices.

Some commentators have labelled it "a tax on families" because it deters or effectively prevents people living in small starter homes or apartments from trading up to the more spacious, family-sized places they need for their children.

First-time buyers are exempt from stamp duty on the purchase of new houses (as long as they're smaller than 125sq m in area) and on second-hand property up to a value of €317,500.

After that, tax kicks in at a rate of 3 per cent, increasing to 6 per cent for second-hand properties worth more than €381,000 and increasing again to the top rate of 9 per cent for second-hand properties with a price tag of more than €635,000.

For other buyers and investors, stamp duty kicks in at a rate of 3 per cent on properties worth more than €127,000. A rate of 4 per cent applies to properties worth more than €190,500; there is a 5 per cent charge on houses worth more than €254,000; 6 per cent once the price surpasses €317,500 and 9 per cent on properties worth more than €635,000.

One pre-Budget suggestion has been that stamp duty should apply only on the amounts above the exemption thresholds.

So instead of paying 3 per cent on a second-hand house worth €350,000, a first-time buyer would be charged 3 per cent only on the amount that exceeds €317,500.

The stamp duty bill in this situation would fall dramatically from €10,500 to €975.

But first-time buyers are often not affected by stamp duty. Outside Dublin, the properties they buy tend to fall below the €317,500 threshold in value, while in and near the capital, most will buy exempt new properties.

Raising the thresholds will help improve their choice and buying power. But it is another proposal - that first-time buyers should be able to claim mortgage interest relief at their higher rate of income tax - which would prove especially attractive.

For first-time buyers, mortgage interest relief is currently worth €800 a year, which is the result of 20 per cent tax relief on interest payments of up to €4,000.

If the relief was available at the 42 per cent rate, it would be worth €1,680 a year - effectively a doubling of the benefit.

While the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has made comments appearing to rule out a giveaway Budget next week, the record level of income tax collected by the Revenue on November 16th - the last day that self-employed people could file their annual tax returns - would appear to suggest there is room for manoeuvre.

The Government's spending Estimates, which were published a fortnight ago, indicated that about €1 billion would be spent on tax relief and €1.3 billion would be spread around various social welfare increases.

Increases in certain welfare payments will help low-income workers and people who are outside the tax net cope with the burden of higher energy bills.

One payment that has already been flagged is an increase in the contributory State pension to more than €200 a week.

Workers can reduce their tax bills by using a variety of tax credits other than the personal and PAYE credits. These include an age-related tax credit for people aged 65 and over, the one-parent family tax credit, the home carer's tax credit, and tax credits on expenses such as rent and trade union subscriptions.

Anyone who claims these credits will be glad to hear Mr Cowen announce an increase in his Budget day speech.

But for homeowners and those struggling to climb the first rung of the property ladder, the magic words will be stamp duty and mortgage interest relief.