Winners and losers from Budget 2018 and finding the surprises

Budget 2018 spread the jam thinly. The winners are middle-income earners, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy. The losers are sun-bed loving smokers with a taste for sugary drinks, writes Conor Pope. The big news for business was the new rate of stamp duty of 6 per cent now applicable to sales of commercial property.

Amid the in-depth analyses and commentary of Budget 2018, Cliff Taylor warns that the Government is left hoping that the threat of Brexit does not upset the sums, while Chris Johns says it's important to remember that the next economic crisis is waiting in the wings. You can also use our Generation Game and see what all the changes mean for your family.

And in a Budget 2018 Podcast, Business Editor Ciarán Hancock is joined by Fiach Kelly and Cliff Taylor of The Irish Times, Peter Reilly, tax policy leader with PWC, and Marian Finnegan, chief economist with Sherry Fitzgerald.

With property a hot button budget issue, it was timely for Irish housebuilder Glenveagh Properties to enter the market. Shares rose 14 per cent as Singapore's soveriegn wealth fund GIB emerged as a major shareholder.

Budget 2018: Have questions? Our expert team is here to answer to answer them

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Miriam Lord: Budget 2018, with Paschal Done-with-No-Hue-and-Very-Little-Cry

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Citi partners with charity Enactus in deal worth €85,000

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Budget 2018 Podcast: Something for everyone in the audience

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No day would be complete without a Brexit mention and Peter Hamilton assesses why Frankfurt appears to be winning the race in relocating banks and financial institutions from London. He argues that the price stability of rents for prime office space may have been a factor.

In commercial property, meanwhile, Jack Fagan reports on how the Avoca chain is to open a food hall at a new centre to be unveiled shortly by the Comer Group in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Finally, back on the Budget trail and Miriam Lord reckons if there was any surprise at all, it was the fact people were surprised that there was no surprise.