Single IT worker

Jennifer is 26 and lives in an apartment in Dublin

Jennifer is 26 and lives in an apartment in Dublin. She works for a multinational computer company and has an annual salary of £30,000. Her salary is augmented by share options she receives each year. She plans to exercise some options next year and sell the shares to raise the deposit to buy a house with her sister. She was a bit disappointed to see no change in the tax treatment of share options. She will, however, benefit from the 2 per cent reduction in the marginal rate of tax. Rent is her biggest fixed monthly expense and it has already risen by almost 30 per cent this year. She finds the net increased benefit of £35 per year in tax relief for rent laughable.