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Employees' PRSI The first £80 of weekly wages for PAYE workers will be disregarded for calculating PRSI contributions, up £30…

Employees' PRSI The first £80 of weekly wages for PAYE workers will be disregarded for calculating PRSI contributions, up £30 on last year.

However, the existing £140 a year tax allowance for PRSI is being abolished to help fund this. Consequently the main benefit will go to the low paid.

The PRSI ceiling where employees and the self employed stop paying is being raised from £21,500 to £22,300.

Income tax The standard rate band is being increased by £1,000 to £18,800 for married couples and by £500 to £9,400 for single people.

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Personal allowances are being increased by £300 to £5,300 for married couples and pro rat a for single people. A special £150 increase goes to lone parents and widowed.

Exemption limits from income tax is being raised by £400 to £7,800 for married couples and pro rata for single people.

Employment/health levies Thresholds for paying these are being raised by £500 to £9,750. People living in the Republic but working in Northern Ireland will be exempt from the levy.

Employers' PRSI The standard rate is to be reduced from 12.2 per cent to 12 per cent.

The low rate of 9 per cent is being reduced to 8 per cent, while the level at which the low rate applies is being raised from employees paid £12,000 to £13,000.

Corporation tax A new, low rate of 30 per cent will apply on the first £50,000 of taxable income of all companies. The remainder will be liable to the standard 38 per cent.

Business Expansion Scheme This is to continue, but with a statutory certification scheme to guard against abuse.

Capital Acquisitions Tax Relief has been increased from 50 per cent to 75 per cent for the transfer of family businesses.

Unemployed Employers will receive a recruitment subsidy of £80 a week for taking on long term unemployed.

A pilot scheme for 1,000 full time places in Community Employment (CE) schemes to explore possibility of creating long term socially useful jobs.

A quarter of all CE places to go to those aged 35 or over, who have been unemployed for at least three years.

Work trials for short term unemployed.

Long term unemployed to retain medical card entitlements for three years after obtaining a job.

Young unemployed will be required to sign on for training and counselling in a "work progression programme".

The number of places on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme will be restored to 5,000. It was cut to 4,000 last year.

Family Income Supplement There will be a £10 a week increase in the eligibility threshold and criteria for people in part time employment or job sharing is to be relaxed.

Back to work allowance The scheme is to be extended from 10,000 participants a year to 15000.