{"id":17991,"date":"2016-10-15T10:06:01","date_gmt":"2016-10-15T10:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/?p=17991"},"modified":"2016-10-19T11:46:43","modified_gmt":"2016-10-19T11:46:43","slug":"budget-2017-a-student-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/budget-2017-a-student-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Budget 2017: A Student Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Evie Kearney<\/p>\n
Budget 2017 was announced today by Finance Minister Michael Noonan. Mr Noonan announced \u20ac500 million of tax cuts a \u20ac195 million increase in tax revenue. While there was nothing particularly surprising about this year’s budget, third-level students will be affected in some sectors.<\/p>\n
Here are the main points to take away from Budget 2017 as a student:<\/h5>\n
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The minimum wage<\/strong> is being increased by 10c to \u20ac9.25 an hour \u2013 coupling this with minimum wage workers no longer paying USC<\/strong> and you\u2019ll have a couple of more euro a week in your pocket.<\/li>\n
The tax relief threshold for the rent-a-room relief scheme has increased by \u20ac2,000 to \u20ac14,000. As a result, there\u2019ll hopefully be an increase in available rooms<\/strong> for third-level students. However, some homeowners may see this as an opportunity to increase rent<\/strong>. <\/li>\n
There was just one tax increase in the budget this year and it means that a pack of cigarettes<\/strong> will be going up by 50c to around \u20ac11 from midnight tonight. However, there has been no change in the price of alcohol<\/strong> or fuel<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
There will be an increase of \u20ac36.5m in spending on third-level and further education. This is the first increase in higher education spending<\/strong> since the economic collapse.<\/li>\n
The much talked about \u2018sugar tax\u2019<\/strong> to raise the cost of sugar-sweetened drinks will be implemented in April 2018 following public consultation.<\/li>\n
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All social welfare payments<\/strong> are due to increase by \u20ac5 from March, including Jobseekers Allowance. If you\u2019re under 25, however, Jobseekers will only increase by \u20ac2.70. The Christmas bonus has also increased to 85 per cent of the weekly payment.<\/li>\n
An additional \u20ac15m has been allocation to the National Broadband Plan<\/strong> to provide high speed broadband to rural areas, meaning that your trips back home to the countryside might not be as painful.<\/li>\n
4,500 additional front line jobs<\/strong> (Garda\u00ed, nurses, teachers) are to be created.<\/li>\n
The Government have also allocated an extra \u20ac497m for health<\/strong>, but has not given a breakdown of the funding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"cigarette\"](\"http:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cigarette-1699513_1920-570x380.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"coca-cola\"](\"http:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/coca-cola-473780_1920-570x713.jpg\")
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