Could the decision to spend most of next year’s corporation tax come back to bite the Government?

Plus, should lenders here consider 50-year mortgages as the housing crisis deepens?

Listen | 37:08
Ifac argues that the Government is not saving enough of the corporation tax bounty for a rainy day. Just 15 per cent of the projected €34 billion of corporation tax receipts for next year will effectively be squirreled away. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Ifac argues that the Government is not saving enough of the corporation tax bounty for a rainy day. Just 15 per cent of the projected €34 billion of corporation tax receipts for next year will effectively be squirreled away. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire

On this week’s episode of Inside Business, host Ciarán Hancock is joined by Chairman of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) Seamus Coffey to discuss his concerns on how the Government is spending our corporation tax windfall.

Ifac were this week in front of the Oireachtas Budgetary Committee giving its view on how that windfall is being spent. The corporation tax receipts for November topped €10 billion, the highest figure ever generated in a single month, with the overall figure for the year expected to hit a record €32 billion.

Ifac argues that the Government is not saving enough of this bounty for a rainy day. Just 15 per cent of the projected €34 billion of corporation tax receipts for next year will effectively be squirreled away. That is just half the level of this year and was described as “risky” by Ifac.

This week Fiona Reddan was writing about 50-year mortgages and posed the question as to whether they might be a solution to help first-time buyers here get on the property ladder.

Donald Trump has described them as a potential “game changer”, but are they a good idea?

Joey Sheahan is head of credit at MyMortgages.ie and he joined Ciarán to outline whether 50-year mortgages were worth considering here.

Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.

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