The Minister for Finance announced that Budget Day will be 5 December 2007. In addition, the Minister announced a move towards a “unified budget” what has been described as a “major innovation”.

This change will involve one single announcement of all expenditure policy measures alongside tax changes on Budget Day. In the past it has been the practice to announce new public expenditure initiatives on three separate occasions-the publication of the Abridged Estimates Volume in November, Budget Day itself and the publication of the Revised Estimates Volume in the following February.

Reading the Minister's press release, it seems unlikely that those of us working in tax will get any more information than usual on Budget Day in relation to tax measures being introduced.

The Department of Finance press release is available at http://www.finance.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?Docid=5001.