Log onto the Fine Gael tax calculator on www.finegael.ie/budget2015
“Everybody in Tipperary will be better off in January because of the changes introduced in Budget 2015. The recently launched Fine Gael tax calculator allows everyone who pays income tax or USC to see how they benefit from the tax cuts introduced”, says Noel Coonan, Fine Gael TD for Tipperary.
“The purpose of the tax calculator is that anyone can log on to the Fine Gael website, enter their details, and see how they benefit from the tax cuts introduced in the budget.
“Our plan is to progressively reduce the high tax rates on work which destroy jobs and ask too high a price of workers. We want to make work pay. The previous Fianna Fáil/Green Government chose to massively increase taxes on workers,” said Deputy Coonan.
“From January, all those in employment and self-employment who pay tax, can expect to have a bit more in their pockets. While all workers will benefit, including the self-employed, the measures were specifically targeted at low and middle income workers who pay high rates of tax on very modest incomes. We intend to repeat these tax cuts again in 2016 and 2017.
Deputy Coonan continued: “A PAYE worker on the average industrial wage of €35,000 will get €396 back from January, while a single PAYE worker on the minimum wage of €17,542 will recoup €173. We have also taken a further 80,000 people out of the USC net, bringing to 410,000 the number of low paid workers who will no longer pay USC.
“Unemployment has dropped by 19% in North Tipperary and 18% in South Tipperary since 2012. This is positive news but we need to do more to ensure that local people feel the benefit of the recovery in their everyday lives. Cutting tax and USC make a real and a direct impact on household incomes.
“I would encourage everyone to use the tax calculator to see exactly how much extra money you’ll get back in 2015,” concluded Deputy Coonan.