Steady growth in income tax and VAT in May as corporation tax drops; Increased investment in public services and infrastructure – Ministers Donohoe & Chambers
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Ó: An Roinn Airgeadais; Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation
- Foilsithe:
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 5 Meitheamh 2025
- today’s Exchequer returns show that tax receipts to end-May were up by €3.0 billion (8.5 per cent) on the same period last year
- when once-off tax receipts arising from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling of September 10th (€1.7 billion) are excluded, tax revenues amounted to €36.4 billion, up by €1.3 billion (3.6 per cent)
- income tax receipts in the period of €14.5 billion are up on last year by €0.6 billion (4.5 per cent) ahead of last year
- VAT receipts of €11.4 billion were up by €0.6 billion (5.5 per cent)
- corporation tax receipts of €7.4 billion are ahead by €1.1 billion (18.1 per cent) on the same period in 2024
- total gross voted expenditure to end-May amounted to €42 billion, €3.1 billion (8.1 per cent) ahead of the same period last year and €37 million (0.1%) behind profile
- a headline Exchequer surplus of €4.0 billion was recorded to end-May, this compares to a surplus of €0.8 billion in the same period last year, an improvement of €3.2 billion
- excluding CJEU receipts an underlying Exchequer surplus of €0.7 billion was recorded in May, a decline of €0.1 billion on last year
Tax receipts of €38.2 billion were collected to end-May, up by €3.0 billion (8.5 per cent) on the same period of 2024. When once-off tax revenues arising from the CJEU ruling of September 10th 2024 of €1.7 billion are excluded, ‘underlying’ tax revenues stood at €36.4 billion, a €1.3 billion (3.6 per cent) increase on the same period last year.
Income tax receipts in May of €2.8 billion were up by 0.1 billion (3.6 per cent) on May last year. On a cumulative basis, receipts of €14.5 billion are up on last year by €0.6 billion (4.5 per cent).
May is a VAT-due month, with receipts of €3.5 billion collected, €0.1 billion (4.4 per cent) ahead of the same month last year. Cumulative VAT receipts of €11.4 billion now stand €0.6 billion (5.5 per cent) up on the same period in 2024.
May is an important month for corporation tax revenues with €2.5 billion collected. This was a decrease of €1.1 billion (30.2 per cent) on the same month last year (with May 2024 receipts boosted by once-off factors). On a cumulative basis and excluding receipts arising from the CJEU ruling, corporation tax receipts of €5.7 billion were €0.6 billion (9.4 per cent) below the same period last year.
Non-tax revenue to end-May was €2.2 billion, up by €1.9 billion on the same period last year, largely driven by transfers to the Exchequer arising from the CJEU judgement (mainly interest payments).
Total gross voted expenditure in in the first five months of the year amounted to just under €42 billion, up by €3.1 billion (8.1 per cent) on last year and €37 million (0.1 per cent) behind profile.
At a headline level, an Exchequer surplus of €4.0 billion was recorded to end-May. This compares to a surplus of €0.8 billion last year, an improvement of €3.2 billion. Excluding the once-off receipts arising from the CJEU ruling, the underlying surplus was €0.7 billion, €0.1 billion behind the same period last year.
The Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said:
“May is one of the more important months for tax revenues, and the steady growth in most tax headings points to an economy that is in a relatively good position.
"The most notable feature of the May Exchequer returns was in respect of corporation tax, which saw a marked year-on-year drop. While this reflects once-off factors last year, it nonetheless highlights the degree of concentration in the corporate tax base, wherein a small number of multinational firms can significantly impact on the overall tax yield.
“In a context of unprecedented uncertainty in the international economic landscape, this serves as a timely reminder of Ireland’s exposure to changes in the global trading environment, and of the vital importance of adhering to a sensible and sustainable budgetary strategy.”
The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers said:
"The Exchequer return spending figures for May show gross spending of €42 billion. This is in line with the amount profiled by departments to be spent at this stage in the year and is an increase of 8.1% on spending this time last year. The significant and sustained investment outlined in Budget 2025 will facilitate the delivery of better public services for our people and continued improvements to infrastructure at a time when our country’s competitiveness is crucial to our economy.
“We are seeing a significant increase in capital spending in particular, up by almost a third year on year. This underscores Government's commitment to tackling infrastructure gaps in our economy and society. I am currently undertaking a review of the National Development Plan to further target investment in the critical, growth enabling areas for the rest of the decade and will be bringing this review to Government next month.
“My department also continues to work on the development of an Expenditure Framework for the Medium-Term. Taking a wider multi-annual view, this will complement and guide the annual budget cycle, enabling us to anticipate and prioritise effectively. The framework will build on the positive successes of the past, encompass evidence-based learnings and anticipate trends and opportunities to enable us to prepare for the future.”