The Tax Take Budget 2019 special

The budget is likely to leave most of us slightly better off, but don't go breaking out the champers and party hats

Brian Keegan: ‘Look out for hikes to the price of petrol, diesel and fuel generally under the badge of a carbon tax’Picture: Clare Keogh

A national budget’s primary objective is to ensure that the money which the government proposes to spend on public services and governance can be met by the taxes raised and other sources of funds. Masking this humdrum reality is that the budget is one of the few government exercises which affects each and every single person in the country.

As a consequence of next Tuesday’s budget statement, some of us will be a ...