Today in the press

NEW LEVY LIKELY FOR HIGH EARNERS AS BUDGET DETAILS TO BE FINALISED - Final details of the budget are due to be worked out at a meeting of the Cabinet tomorrow morning, where the issue of a further contribution to the public finances by those earning more than €150,000 is likely to be addressed, says the Irish Times. Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has pledged no new taxes will be introduced and Government sources last night categorically ruled out a third rate of income tax. However, to avoid the perception of unfairness, an extra imposition of another kind on single-income earners above €150,000 is under serious consideration. This would be favoured by Green Party Ministers John Gormley and Eamon Ryan and some of their Fianna Fáil colleagues. The precise form of such an imposition is not agreed but it is thought to be an increase in the income levy rate of 1 or 2% for that category. Senior Fianna Fáil sources said that, in order to avoid charges of unfairness towards lower-income groups, "the Government has to show that those on high incomes will be asked to give a bit more".

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REGULATOR READY TO ISSUE RULING ON CONTROVERSIAL AIRPORT CHARGES - The aviation regulator is poised to issue a final determination later this week regarding the setting of airport charges in Ireland for the next five years, says the Irish Times. Whatever the decision, it is almost certain to be highly contentious. It is unlikely that Commissioner Cathal Guiomard will rubberstamp the massive hike sought by the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), but even a modest rise will draw outrage from the airport's biggest customers, Ryanair and Aer Lingus. It is thought that the Commission for Aviation Regulation is working flat out in efforts to deliver the determination later this week. Earlier this year, Mr Guiomard issued a draft determination that the airport passenger fee would rise 13% to €8.35 from €7.39. The DAA has been looking for a 30% jump. However, while it is not certain, it is likely the final determination will probably not vary widely from that delivered in the earlier draft. The aviation regulator has a mandate to take the interests of both the airport operator, and its users including airlines and passengers, into account when determining charges.

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2,000 WAITING ON MORTGAGE RELIEF - Two thousand homeowners are still waiting for approval from Revenue for their mortgage interest relief (MIR) more than six months after the Government announced the changes to the scheme, says the Irish Examiner. A decision to change the MIR entitlement was announced in the supplementary budget in April. However, the day before the decision took effect Revenue said it did not have enough time to determine exactly who remained eligible and said it was temporarily suspending the relief for a massive number of mortgage-holders until their status could be ascertained. New figures from Revenue show, despite efforts to clear up the situation, 2,000 of the 321,000 homeowners who had the relief suspended still remain without MIR more than six months on. Revenue said it is currently processing 2,000 completed responses to requests for information.

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30 FINANCIAL GROUPS ON SYSTEMIC RISK LIST - Thirty global financial institutions make up a list that regulators are earmarking for cross-border supervision exercises, the Financial Times has learnt. The list includes six insurance companies - Axa, Aegon, Allianz, Aviva, Zurich and Swiss Re - which sit alongside 24 banks from the UK, continental Europe, North America and Japan. The list has been drawn up by regulators under the auspices of the Financial Stability Board, in an effort to preempt systemic risks from spreading around the world in any future financial crisis. Insurers are considered systemically important for a variety of reasons: they might, for example, have a large lending arm, such as Aviva, or a complex financial engineering business, akin to that of Swiss Re. AIG of the US, the failed insurance group, was proven to be a vast systemic risk last year, in large part because of its diversification from insurance into complex financial engineering.