The price of tobacco products is expected to be significantly increased in the upcoming Budget, and the monies raised will be partly used to fund the much-vaunted cut in the Universal Social Charge (USC), one of the Government’s favorite cash cows.
The reduction in USC is believed to be the centerpiece of this year’s Budget.
By increasing the thresholds, up to 90,000 people will be removed from the USC net, with middle income earners expected to reap the biggest gains.
People earning up to €70,044 currently pay the main 7pc rate. By reducing this to 5pc, a single person earning €36,000, for instance, would see a net gain of €374 per year. And somebody earning €75,000 a year would gain €1,049 per annum.
The price of cigarettes is expected to go up by at least 50c.