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MINISTER FOR FINANCE Michael Noonan has welcomed the figures on exchequer returns, which shows that the government collected more money in tax than it expected to last year, as a “historic high”.
While the collection of tax revenue was over €600 million more than the Department of Finance expected, the deficit in the Exchequer increased by €949 million over the last year too.
The main area that exceeded expectations was corporation tax which was 11%, or €737 million, higher than expected.
Some of the other key features from the 2016 returns include:
Noonan commented:
Our citizens deserve quality public services to help develop a fairer Ireland. The amount of tax collected in 2016 is at an historic high.
“It has provided not only for the extra expenditure incurred in 2016 but for the substantial tax reductions announced in the Budget in October 2015 and delivered during the course of 2016.”
He added that the government was engaging in “prudent and responsible” spending as part of its commitment to improve public services.
Davy analyst David McNamara said that the figures show that the government is “well on track to hit its deficit forecast of 0.9% of GDP”.
He added that corporation tax was a “key factor in tax outperformance”.
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One upon a time. The Coronavirus. The end.
I knew it. The Journal.ie and RTE are all the one.
@Manbackonboard: …ahhhh stapppp…. We live in a very independent and accountable society….. How’s me story tell’in so far….
@Manbackonboard: television and the internet gives us a window on the world, so why is the journal associating with the Free speech deniers in rte
Once upon a time, a man asked a woman to marry him. She said no and he lived happily ever after.
The end.
@John Fairclough: I think you’ll find she forever more had a clean peaceful house, with no football on the TV, no dirty socks on the floor and lived even more happily ever after than he did.
It all started on one of those dark dismal days, clouds hung over the sleepy village ,threatening their menace at any minute.. Patrick walked through the deserted main street, up past the old ruins beside Mcgintys pub…”should I go in” he asks himself…the cold wind picking up and whipping the turf smoke from the pub up through the town..”maybe I will, later” …”after I come back down from voting Sinn Fein and pissing off FG and FF ….and RTE…feck them all anyway, they are the best story tellers I’ve ever come across….
My girlfriends 4 foot 9.
@Luke Lee: very tall for a 12 year old
Once upon a time . The End . Sign me up
@Ríain HenC: You forgot the middle bit.
@Rachel O’ Meara: Damn writers block !
@Ríain HenC: Don’t worry, I hear that happens alot. :)
@Rachel O’ Meara: Phew ! That’s a relief , thought it was just me ;)
This brings me back to a six word story or flash fiction which allowed for a story , the best example of which was “For sale; baby shoes ,never worn”. It is the concept of telling a story in a minimal amount of words.
Stately plump Buck Mulligan blahdy blahdy blah yes I said yes I will yes.
My father always told us this story he had to write for school when he was young. It was titled “A day in the bog”. He started “The day was wet and we didn’t go”. Always made me laugh.
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