Booming Times At The Treasury

Tax Receipts At Their Highest Since The Heady Days Of The '90s

The Irish Treasury is set to record the biggest surplus since the end of the last century, at the height of the Celtic Tiger period, after Exchequer figures published early this week showing that the Government has collected nearly €3.8 billion more than expected in taxes so far this year.

The new figures show a budget surplus of €5.9 billion for the first 11 months of the year.

Tax revenue for the same period stood at over €43 billion, compared with €36.8 billion last year.

The property boom has boosted tax receipts  to €3.745 billion more than budgeted for last December.

The figures show the Exchequer took in over €2 billion more than anticipated in capital gains tax and stamp duty over the period.

A spokesman for the Department of Finance said revenue from capital gains tax was 51 per cent higher than they expected while stamp duty was 39 per cent higher.

The rest of the surplus comes from corporation tax which was €670 million ahead of projections with income tax and VAT both €475 million and €373 million above expectations.

The figures also show that spending was €1.3 million below projections. This was made up of a €655 million capital underspend and a €683 million current underspend.

Total expenditure was €39.5 billion compared with €35.3 billion the previous year.

Accordingt to Pat McArdle, Chief Economist of Ulster Bank: "There was an element of disbelief at the weekend over the scale of the Governments' good fortune.

"The November data, released this evening, show us where the largess came from.

"The Government expected to collect €8.3 billion in November, instead, they got €10 billion, €1.7 billion more than expected. €10 billion is a lot of money.

"It equalled, for example, the total tax take in 1990 and was almost two-thirds of the 1996 figure.

"It was also much greater than anyone, myself included, expected.

"Last month, I forecast the total 2006 tax overshoot at €2.8 billion - the estimates in the White Paper on Receipts and Expenditure released last Friday put it at €3.8 billion, a cool €1 billion extra.

"November is always a big tax month - this year it produced 22% of the revised €45.5 billion now expected for the year."