That's right, the day is here, the day we have all been waiting for. I know you've been waiting with bated breath; with a barely concealed sense of longing for this, this monumental day. That's right, it is, and it brings me great joy to say this, the 198th anniversary of the establishment of the Peruvian navy.
Now, this would be the point - were it up to me - that this article would launch into a considered laudation of some of the primary achievements of the Peruvian Navy. I'm sure we could all sit here and sing the praises all day of Peru's victories during the Pacific War of 1879-1883, or of the valuable patrol work they did during World War II, monitoring the Japanese navy. Alas, I have been told that that would not fit in with the ostensible remit of this, a student-focused, light entertainment website, as such, I've been asked to shelve those plans. Instead, I will bring you news of the other - and I can't stress this enough - lesser event of signifcance today, the unveiling of the 2020 budget.
Paschal Donohue, Ireland's finance minister, has today unveiled before the Dáil his budget for 2020. It had been widely reported that it would be a fairly conservative budget, with minimal increases in expenditure and few tax cuts meted out. This frugality is in anticipation of the possibility of a no-deal Brexit and the economically deleterious effects that this would have on Ireland.
However, here are five changes announced iin the budget that will effect Irish students:
1) Cigarettes:
As always, there will be an increase in the excise duty placed on cigarettes. There will be an extra 50c in excise duty per packet of cigarettes. Think of this less as a punitive measure now, and more of the government helping you to create a slush fund for when your lungs eventually collapse into an ephysemic puddle in the not too distant future.
2) Fuel:
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As part of the government's plans to raise the carbon tax from €20 per tonne to €80 per tonne by 2030, they have announced a €6 increase per tonne for this year. This will have an impact on petrol and diesel prices, resulting in an increase of 2c per litre of petrol or diesel.
3) Alcohol:
Thankfully, there will be no increase on the excise duty placed on alcohol in this budget. While there is typically some, at least modest increase, in this tax, this year will see no change.
4) Income Tax Credit:
There'll be an increase of €150 to the income tax credit available to the self-employed. This currently sits at €1,350 - €300 below the equivalent income tax credit for PAYE employees.
5) Education:
There will be a .1% increase to the national training fund. You can at this point safely assume that the paucity of changes in this budget are really affecting the scope of this article.
You can follow Paschal Donohoe's speech in the Dáil announcing the budget from 1pm - should you have nothing else going on during your day.
