{"id":642910,"date":"2026-10-02T18:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/642910\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T18:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:56:10","slug":"states-tax-take-boosted-by-e3bn-as-multinationals-front-load-payments-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/642910\/","title":{"rendered":"State\u2019s tax take boosted by \u20ac3bn as multinationals \u2018front-load\u2019 payments \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

An additional \u20ac3 billion in corporate tax was collected by the Government last month after several big multinationals \u201cfront-loaded\u201d their end-of-year tax payments to Revenue.<\/p>\n

Because the payments were made ahead of time, receipts for November and December would \u201cbe down\u201d on last year, a Department of Finance spokesman said.<\/p>\n

He also warned that the department\u2019s forecast for corporation tax for the full year had been revised down slightly to \u20ac34 billion as other payments expected this year would not now arrive until early next year.<\/p>\n

The latest exchequer returns, published by the Department ahead of Tuesday\u2019s budget, show the Government collected \u20ac4.9 billion in corporate tax in September, more than three times the amount collected in the same month last year.<\/p>\n

On a cumulative basis, receipts from the business tax came to \u20ac22.7 billion for the nine-month period, up by \u20ac4.4 billion (24 per cent) on 2025.<\/p>\n

The Government\u2019s budgetary arithmetic was also boosted by income tax, which generated \u20ac27.8 billion on a cumulative basis, \u20ac2 billion (7.8 per cent) ahead of last year, reflecting the strength of the State\u2019s labour market.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Ministers warned of inflation risk as public spending overruns likely to top \u20ac1.4bnOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

VAT receipts for the period came to \u20ac20.5 billion, up \u20ac1.7 billion on 2025, as consumer spending remained strong despite the uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Across all tax channels, receipts were up (when adjusted for the Apple tax payment) by 10.7 per cent to \u20ac78.9 billion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there are significant distortions caused by the timing of corporation tax payments, today\u2019s receipts continue the positive trend we have seen over the course of the year,\u201d Minister for Finance Simon Harris said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRobust revenue growth reflects an economy that has been running at full employment for the longest stretch in the history of the State,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Budget Q&A: Submit your questions to our expert panel on budget dayOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The Government also published an estimate of receipts and expenditures as part of a pre-budget White Paper, which showed it expected to run a budget surplus of \u20ac13.5 billion in 2027 even after Tuesday\u2019s \u20ac8.5 billion budget package.<\/p>\n

Tax receipts for this year are expected to hit a record \u20ac110.5 billion before climbing to \u20ac119 billion in 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth publications tell the same story: we have a resilient economy and strong public finances,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis gives us the capacity to deliver a budget on Tuesday that will reward work and effort, continue to invest in our public services and infrastructure, and save for the future,\u201d he said,<\/p>\n

The latest exchequer numbers indicated that total gross voted expenditure for the nine months to the end of September was \u20ac83.4 billion, which was \u20ac5.9 billion (7.7 per cent) ahead of last year.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ireland\u2019s economic outlook ahead of Budget 2027 and agentic AI going rogue<\/p>\n

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council<\/a>, however, warned that the Department of Health was heading for its second-largest overspend outside of the pandemic. <\/p>\n

Overruns have risen from \u20ac390 million in July to \u20ac650 million in August, and \u20ac730 million in September, it said in response to the latest figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key takeaway is that overspends continue and strong revenues are offsetting them for now. But the Government is relying heavily on risky corporation tax,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The White Paper 2026 surplus is \u20ac2.3 billion smaller than forecast in March, and the budget will reduce it further, it said.<\/p>\n

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has already forecast overruns across departmental budgets of \u20ac700 million this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBudget 2027 will continue investment in critical infrastructure and public services, while placing an enhanced focus and emphasis on reform, efficiency and driving better value for money so that public spending delivers real and tangible improvements in people\u2019s daily lives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Peter Vale, tax partner with Grant Thornton Ireland, said: \u201cThe last set of figures pre-Budget 2027 show the exchequer in a rude state of health.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe strength of the domestic economy is reflected in robust income tax and VAT receipts, notwithstanding the reduction in the VAT rate for the hospitality sector that took effect on 1 July.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An additional \u20ac3 billion in corporate tax was collected by the Government last month after several big multinationals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,62613,61,60,217598],"class_list":["post-642910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-dublin-castle","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-taoiseach-micheal-martin-attending-the-national-economic-dialog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}