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The Government's tax take is up €415 million on this time last year

The Exchequer deficit for the first three months is at €2.3 billion, compared to €3.7 billion this time last year. Michael Noonan says it’s a ‘solid start’.

Updated at 5.30pm

THE LATEST LOOK at the Government’s accounts shows a 4.7 per cent increase in the amount taken of tax taken in over the last 12 months. Tax revenue at the end of Quarter 1 2014 was up €415 , compared to the same time last year.

The deficit now stands at €2,316 million: an improvement of €1,379 million compared to Q1 2013, when it was €3.7 billion.

Total tax revenue was €9,232 million, according to the quarterly Exchequer Returns statement released this afternoon.

Here’s the full breakdown of figures from the Department of Finance:

  • Income tax totalled €3,795 million to end March, an increase of €129 million (3.5 per cent) year-on-year and up €4 million on target.
  • VAT receipts for the year to date totalled €3,509 million, up €56 million (1.6 per cent) on target —- an increase of €210 million (6.4 per cent) on the same period last year.
  • Corporation tax receipts of €256 million to end-March were €138 million (35.1 per cent) down year-on-year — but €38 million (17.5%) above profile. (According to the Dept: ‘The year-on-year performance is primarily driven by a non-recurring, unexpected payment from a large company in 2013 of €140m’.)
  • Excise duties, at €1,104 million for the first 3 months of the year, are €114 million (11.5 per cent) up year-on-year and up €111 million (11.2 per cent) against profile.
  • Stamp Duties were down €155 million (50.6 per cent) year-on-year, to €151 million, but up €15 million (11.2 per cent) on target.
  • Capital Gains Tax was up €28 million (40.9 per cent) year-on-year, to €98 million, which is €4 million (4.3 per cent) above target.
  • Local Property Tax receipts of €214 million were collected to end-March, up €2 million (1.1 per cent) on profile. [From the Dept: 'Significant property tax monies were received in March (€157m), most of which can be attributed to the receipt of the Single Debit Authority related payments'.]
  • Taken together, the remaining smaller tax-heads – Customs and CAT – were up €7 million (9%) year-on-year, but down €1 million (1.7%) on profile.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan’s describing it as a “solid start to the year”:

Overall, the tax performance for the first quarter of the year is in line with expectations, with headline tax revenues coming in nearly 3% ahead of profile.

[...] we are starting to see the impact of strong employment growth feeding through into income tax receipts, which is up €129 million on last year.

While according to Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin, “expenditure overall is on target and in line with expectations”:

It is, however, early in the year and the Government is aware of the continuing need to keep overall expenditure on profile.
According to Peter Vale, a tax partner at Grant Thornton:
Compliance with the property tax has exceeded expectations and is far higher than compliance with the now redundant household charge, further evidence perhaps of the greater fear associated with being pursued by the Revenue Commissioners.

The concern that property tax would drag down consumer spending doesn’t seem to have been borne out thus far.

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33 Comments
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    Mute Pierce2020
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:03 PM

    Think I’ll move to the UK

    131
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    Mute Brian Ward
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:10 PM

    Ah don’t, you’re great crack!

    91
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    Mute Barry
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:12 PM

    You’re not ok to pay the house tax in Ireland but you want to move to uk and pay council tax that ranges between 200 and 1,500 sterling.

    Makes sense to me!

    88
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    Mute Bo11ocks_to_this
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:22 PM

    At least in the UK you actually get something for the tax. Here you get fcuk all. It just disappears into the black hole & finances ‘educational’ trips for council types.

    173
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    Mute Adelle Smyth
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:29 PM

    This is what you receive in Northern Ireland:

    bin collections and recycling
    leisure centres
    parks
    events
    council venues
    street cleaning
    economic indicatives
    building control.

    education
    health
    personal social services
    housing
    roads
    sewerage
    water.

    All taken from the government website.
    Where does out money go into a black hole of toxic debt to pay off the bully boys of Europe. SF ain’t looking to bad to me at the moment.

    147
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    Mute Barry
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:30 PM

    Bo11ocks_to_this, so you don’t get ANY return for your tax?

    Honestly you believe that?, damn I guess all those things like
    - parks
    - footpaths
    - roads
    - public lighting
    - sewage works
    - water works
    - schools
    - hospitals/health
    - fire stations
    - local services such as library, bin services (where available etc)
    - street cleaning and street bin collections etc
    - playgrounds, ball play area’s, green area’s
    - historical attractions (somebody has to fund the OPW!)
    - government services including that big payout known as the dole

    Get funded by magic money.

    Yeah, we don’t get any of those, your tax money just goes on council junkets.

    Anymore nonsense you want to say Bo11ocks_to_this?

    96
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    Mute John Masterson
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:33 PM

    So in Northern Ireland you don’t have to pay for any of those services if you’ve paid your household charge, I think not…I think there’s a bit of a ‘grass is always greener’ scenario going on with that comment

    69
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    Mute Barry
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:34 PM

    Adelle Smyth, you get such services in Ireland, whats your point?

    Also council tax doesn’t cover water, thats why they pay a separate water tax/charge.

    51
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    Mute John Masterson
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:36 PM

    Well said Barry

    44
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    Mute Shane King
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:58 PM

    Well if you live in a country area you don’t get any of them services,not everyone lives in towns or citys.

    43
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    Mute Barry
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    Mar 20th 2013, 3:10 PM

    Shane King, you don’t get ANY of those services?? You sure?

    Crap, must be very annoying try to get near a town without any roads, even more annoying when you get into town and you are not allowed use the footpaths or roads, and at nights you have to close your eye’s in town so you can enjoy the street lights.

    Also must be awful annoying when stuff goes on fire and you can’t use the fire brigade, never mind the times you get sick and you can’t use our health system.

    Finally, education in the country must be very hard for kids, after all you said you don’t use any of the services and that includes our school system.

    My point Shane is that very clearly you do use and get to benefit of these services, sure you won’t have all of them but then people in a small village won’t have same service to a large town or city.

    Its unrealistic to expect the local council/government to put in street lights, footpaths, water and sewage systems to every single house in this country, if they did that we’d have no countryside left in this country.

    39
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    Mute Matt
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    Mar 20th 2013, 3:11 PM

    I pay over £2000 a year council tax and over £600 a year for water rates. National insurance tax is alot higher in the UK

    48
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    Mute Dermot Mc Loughlin
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    Mar 20th 2013, 3:23 PM

    Tax pays for bin collection.
    ROFLMAO.

    14
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    Mute Leonard Washington
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    Mar 20th 2013, 3:32 PM

    You’ve to pay for hospitals here Barry Jesus ye even have to pay the fire brigade if your house goes on fire!
    Another fg/labour troll.

    53
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    Mute Shane King
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    Mar 20th 2013, 4:01 PM

    Barry i pay motor tax for the roads and pay to use any hospital also you have to pay for the fire brigade to come out.the roads were i live are in such a state why should we be paying motor tax.we also pay for bin collection and soon we will be paying for water.

    40
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    Mute The Almighty
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    Mar 20th 2013, 4:06 PM

    Ignore Barry he is a well known FG troll

    34
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    Mute Shane King
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    Mar 20th 2013, 4:37 PM

    They’re out in force today.but on they’re pages on facebook you can’t question them or they just ban you straight away.go back into your cave Barry

    17
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    Mute Tom Quinn
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    Mar 20th 2013, 5:08 PM

    @Barry …………. the house tax in Ireland, as you call it, will not be used to cover the list of things you mention. Most of those services are covered by taxes and charges that are already being paid and that are supposed to be used to pay for these related services, pretty much directly in some cases

    The Fire Brigade is not a free service. Its paid for by the person who calls the service to their house/building. Its usually covered by private insurance.
    Most people in this country pay privately for their bins to be collected as far as I can see……….so the house tax has nothing to do with it
    Surely road tax, tax on petrol and VRT should cover the cost of the roads. ie a separate tax for that service?
    Sewage and water works are the same thing and will have a separate tax very soon. Namely water charges.
    Unless you have a medical card the health service in this country is not exactly free………….subsidised but not free. Also if it was good enough why would anyone consider private health care?……….
    The dole is paid by PRSI contributions so very much will not come from the house tax.
    Education is not free either. One must pay for books and uniforms and pretty much everyone is bullied into paying a voluntary contribution in primary and secondary schools. Third level registration costs might as well be called fees at this stage……….again, subsidised, but not free.
    All of these, with the exception of PRSI, are taxes/charges that are paid for after income tax is paid. So our income tax is not paying for these services in some cases and heavily subsidising them in others……..and this is before we pay this house tax………

    So what really is anyone getting from the household charge? Wheres the transparency of where the money actually goes and is ring fenced for? Hmmmmmm? Some government TD says it will pay for local services and you just believe them? How are these services being paid for now? The money that is paying for them now, where will that go once its all replaced by this household charge?

    The household charge is a bailout tax. That is it. The only service we get for paying it is the servicing of private banking debt………….to think otherwise is naive………..

    47
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    Mute Marist '59
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    Mar 20th 2013, 5:12 PM

    200 and 1500 sterling? I pay £3,166….

    8
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    Mute Shane King
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    Mar 20th 2013, 5:24 PM

    Good man tom.

    4
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    Mute Jim Walsh
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    Mar 20th 2013, 5:53 PM

    It’s amazing the groupthink that exists on Journal. Anybody who even dares to post an argument in favour of the government or suggests that all is not rosy everywhere else gets called a sheep or a party hack. Classic way to deflect an argument that you can’t answer. Attack the person instead.

    29
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    Mute Shane King
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    Mar 20th 2013, 5:58 PM

    Fg/labour troll ^^^^^

    17
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    Mute Barry
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:08 PM

    Tax credits for fracking?!

    Great so the country will get big corporations and some of the benefits to the country of fracking such as some jobs but the environment will go out the window.

    Nice!

    78
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    Mute Erfantastico
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    Mar 20th 2013, 5:11 PM

    Sarcasm is not something you do well.

    7
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    Mute William Grogan
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    Mar 20th 2013, 9:48 PM

    Barry, this sentence of yours ” the environment will go out the window”, is a lie. Because shale gas replaces the burning of coal it’s better for the environment. You shouldn’t read rubbish web sites. The downside of shale gas is exaggerated nonsense.

    3
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    Mute Ciaran Dillon
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:08 PM

    Ah yes. Lets re-inflate the property bubble…

    37
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    Mute Niall Mulligan
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:11 PM

    Sure half of them don’t pay TAX anyway so what difference does it make?

    25
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    Mute Reg
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:24 PM

    I hope our government doesn’t get any stupid ideas from George Osborne by interfering in the property market again.

    22
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    Mute GavanD
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    Mar 20th 2013, 3:18 PM

    In N.Ireland, the tangible return on property tax is free bin collection and free use of dump. But Its a hell of a lot more than what it is south of the border. On the other hand then NHS is free for all so swings and roundabouts…

    12
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    Mute MrKnow
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    Mar 20th 2013, 6:36 PM

    Don’t forget that our property tax is just introduced, give it two or three years and will be paying 4 figure numbers in property tax. One thing that we do well here in Rep of Ireland is increase tax like there’s no tomorrow.

    7
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    Mute Tom Newnewman
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:49 PM

    If a worker employs a worker they should only be taxed at 12.5%.

    10
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    Mute Philip
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    Mar 20th 2013, 6:09 PM

    What does it matter what the headline tax rate is

    The effective rate for these large companies is less than 1%

    8
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    Mute Leonard Washington
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    Mar 20th 2013, 2:19 PM

    I emailed you a good story there Gavan.

    7
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    Mute Stephen Kearon
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    Mar 20th 2013, 7:47 PM

    British equivalent of Boyd Barrett must be raging with a Govt reducing Corporation tax, a Govt actually doing something positive for job creation

    5
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    Mute Pablo
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    Mar 20th 2013, 4:15 PM

    Bye bye Intel

    5
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    Mute Richard Collumb
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    Mar 20th 2013, 5:05 PM

    Why? Corporate tax here 12.5%, new UK rate 20% and that is before you’d have to build a multi-billion plant which would take a number of years to construct.

    15
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    Mute Tomy Iona
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    Mar 20th 2013, 5:55 PM

    Correct Richard, if anything were to move from Ireland it wouldn’t be companies that require such massive investment in floorspace and equipment. Simple assembly jobs would be more likely to go and even then, China would have a lot of that already if it were going to happen.

    Even if the UK dropped it’s corp tax rate further than outlined here – the Irish sea is little more than a pond and we have an abundance of qualified people here.

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    Mute Pablo
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    Mar 20th 2013, 6:05 PM

    Wages, cost of living, logistics, Wendys

    3
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    Mute William Grogan
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    Mar 20th 2013, 9:49 PM

    … and what happens in the UK to corporation tax rates when labour gets back in?

    1
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    Mute Stephen Doherty
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    Mar 21st 2013, 1:10 PM

    Its not existing multinationals operations that will move but future decisions on fdi, the IDA knows that its now easier to attract talent to the UK with lower personal taxes than Ireland.

    Budget measures to boost house construction will benefit Ire if it works.

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    Mute Darren Callaghan
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    Mar 21st 2013, 1:12 AM

    Wonder will the Germans tell the Brits that its not fair to drop their corporation tax as they have been trying to get Ireland to raise ours ever since we signed up to bailout . Lower tax means more investment by major multinational company’s which has to be good think that and our export market is keeping our heads above water so fair play to uk and all of Europe needs to stand up to Germany , we are sovereign countries and we will decide what our taxes should be so pee off merkel

    4
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    Mute brian magee
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    Mar 20th 2013, 10:58 PM

    Very worrying about the fracking incentives

    4
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    Mute Mark Duffy
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    Mar 20th 2013, 7:42 PM

    Won’t make any difference big corporations pay little if no tax because of tax loopholes in uk,google amazon Starbucks all shelter their tax and pay very little

    4
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