Tax revenues up by 11% from September last year with €62 billion

Kenneth Fox

Tax revenues to the end of September stood at €68.2 billion, up on the same period last year by €6.8 billion (11 per cent), according to new figures from the Department of Finance.

Income tax receipts of €24.8 billion were ahead of last year by €1.6 billion (7.1 per cent), VAT revenues of €17.9 billion were up on last year by €1.2 billion (7.0 per cent) and corporation tax receipts of €17.8 billion are ahead of 2023 by €3.4 billion (23.3 per cent).

For the quarter as a whole, receipts of €23.4 billion are ahead of last year by just under €3 billion (14.5 per cent), the bulk of which relates to corporation tax.

Total gross voted expenditure to end-September amounted to €72.1 billion, €7.7 billion (12 per cent) above the same period in 2023 and €2.9 billion or 4.2 per cent above profile;

An Exchequer surplus of €5.0 billion was recorded at the end of September 2024.

Tax receipts of €8.4 billion were collected in September, demonstrating relatively muted growth of €0.1 billion (1.3 per cent) on last year, due to a decline in corporation tax for the month.

For the quarter as a whole, however, receipts of €23.4 billion are well ahead of Q3 last year, by €3.0 billion (14.4 per cent), with robust growth across the key tax heads but a particularly large increase in corporation tax.

September is the second-last VAT-due month of the year, and growth was steady, with receipts of €3.4 billion up on September 2023 by €0.2 billion (5.0 per cent). On a cumulative basis, VAT receipts of €17.9 billion are ahead of last year by €1.2 billion (7 per cent).

Corporation tax receipts saw a drop in September, with receipts of €1.5 billion down by €0.2 billion (13.3 per cent).

Commenting on the figures, the Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers said: “The tax figures published on Thursday show a pattern of robust growth that we have seen throughout the year, and provide further evidence of the fundamental strength of our economy.

Of course, the stand-out feature in the tax performance has been corporation tax.

"Even as receipts in the year to date remain well ahead of initial expectations, the decline this month reminds us of the volatility associated with this revenue stream, and why this Government has acted to mitigate our exposure to these receipts through the establishment of the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund."