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There’s less than a month to go until Budget 2021, but already it’s shaping up to be unlike any other we’ve known in recent memory. Coming against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and what’s looking increasingly like no trade deal between the UK and the EU by year end, the government has two broad…

Sterling got support today from data showing British shoppers kept increasing spending last month, taking sales further above their pre-Covid-19 levels, although the outlook for the pound remains bleak.  The currency was up against the euro at 0.916 today but down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.295. It fell to $1.2866 yesterday when the Bank of England said…

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has undercut the main justification for US President Donald Trump’s trade war against China, saying that American tariffs on Chinese goods violate international rules. A panel of three WTO trade experts yesterday said the US broke global regulations when it imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018. Washington has imposed levies…

So is this the big one? After years of courts cases and appeals and treaties and Austrian campaigners, are we finally on the brink of digital war between the EU and the US? Everyone agrees that the Irish data protection commissioner’s preliminary order to Facebook to stop transferring EU citizen data to the US brings…

Revenue has further extended the deadline for self-assessed income tax returns made online. The Pay and File deadline for submissions made via Revenue Online Service is now 10 December, as opposed to the previous date of 12 November. Revenue said Capital Acquisitions Tax returns relating to gifts or inheritances received in the year to the…

The global economic recovery from the crisis originated by the coronavirus pandemic may take as much as five years, the World Bank’s chief economist Carmen Reinhart said on Thursday. “There will probably be a quick rebound as all the restriction measures linked to lockdowns are lifted, but a full recovery will take as much as…

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found there is limited overlap between the parts of the economy most exposed to Brexit and the parts most exposed to the impact of Covid-19.   In a working paper, the ESRI said that if a no-trade deal Brexit were to occur, more companies overall would be…

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady today and slightly upgraded its view on the economy, suggesting that no immediate expansion of stimulus was needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic.  Markets are focusing on what Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will say at his post-meeting briefing on how the central bank could work…

The Minister for Finance has confirmed that the Government does not plan to make any changes to income tax, USC or PRSI in October’s Budget.  Paschal Donohoe said it is the view of the Government that it needs to hold the personal tax code steady and use it to respond back to the challenges facing…

The Central Bank has published an analysis of payment breaks taken by mortgage holders and firms which shows the overwhelming majority of borrowers had no problem servicing their loans prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.   The analysis of payment breaks on mortgages is based on data at the end of May from the five main…