Smart Money

All the focus is on income tax, but decisions on VAT and excise are vital for your spending power

Tax is the number one thorny issue for the Government to deal with

Hopes of a steady reduction in interest rates are being called into question and the ECB says what will happen at its next meeting remains " wide open”

The Government appears to have a lot of cash to spend - but when you look at the details, big decisions lie ahead on how to help households

There are numerous estimates of how many homes Ireland has to build. But which one is right?

Female labour force participation has risen steadily from below 50% at the turn of the century to over 60% now, but remains low by international standards

There are interesting trends as employees seek to use new legislation and official guidelines to their advantage as remote working beds in across the office workforce

Borrowers should not expect to see ultra low rates any time soon, regardless of today’s rate cut

As with corporation tax, income tax comes from a relatively small base and many of the better-off work for big corporations, demonstrating vulnerability in the system

An aspect of the party’s proposals that has received little attention would prove significant for those earning over €100,000

The State is putting an awful lot of cash in, but are taxpayers seeing a worthwhile return?

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve signalled US interest rates were staying higher for longer, and the mood in Europe has shifted too, with implications for Irish mortgage holders

The commitment to put €6bn a year into long-term savings funds will knock a serious hole in headline general Government surplus

How green is your mortgage? The incentives to buy an A or B rated home are rising, but many cannot get hold of new builds and are left paying more expensive rates

State funds intend to save some of the massive inflow of corporation tax

As well as an emotional attachment to the family home, there are financial barriers for “empty nesters” who want to move to less spacious accommodation

Hybrid is the future - US research found average workers come in 2.6 days a week, while it is unlikely everyone will ever return for the full five

Top 10% richest households own 48% of the net wealth in the State

Interest rates are not coming down immediately, but they will fall later this year, posing a dilemma for those taking out mortgages

How much of this is driven by financial necessity or other factors?

Smart Money: Chances are they will be, but a lot of things have to go their way

Affordability remains an issue across most of the Irish rental market where almost one-in-three new tenancies command a rent of over €2,000 a month

As public sector union members prepare to vote on the new agreement, here is why they should accept the terms offered

We have steadily been moving to online shopping and digital payments, but cash continues to circulate widely

Despite the warnings from the IMF and ECB, rates are only going one way. New entrants to the housing market need to carefully assess their options

The vast bulk of employees in the private sector will retire on much lesser terms than their public sector equivalents

Cliff Taylor: Here are the things that will influence your personal finances this year, what you need to watch - and what you need to do

Faced with a housing crisis, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald says she would like to see a drop to this price level

A lot depends on which type of loan you hold and how much remains on your balance

The old story of the Republic’s two-tier economy is alive and well

How we view our tax obligations has evolved greatly since the murky days of the 1980s

State investment will be hit as our neighbours opt for the optics of tax cuts

CSO data shows a rise in the disposable income of households since 2016 – though not all will have benefited

As a country we depend on natural gas imports, putting us at the mercy of notoriously volatile global price changes

Interest rate hikes: ECB’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged this month may signal we have reached the peak

Government will have hoped that signing up for OECD tax deal would take the heat off – but the surging revenues of recent years are getting more and more attention

A digital version of the single currency would see euros being carried in a wallet on your smartphone

Ireland has had something of a free pass from surging corporate tax receipts, allowing spending to rise, taxes to be trimmed and money to be set aside for the future

Smart Money: Can a tax cut not be a tax cut at all? Are once-off payments actually repeat measures?

Cliff Taylor: Mondays and Fridays are by far the most common days to work from home