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Tax revenue €3.3 billion ahead of expectation in 2015
Ministers Noonan & Howlin speak to the media following publication of the Exchequer statement today
Tax revenue last year was €3.3 billion ahead of expectations, according to today's end 2015 Exchequer statement.
According to the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform, the Exchequer was broadly balanced last year with a deficit of €62 million recorded.
The statement showed a year-on-year improvement of around €5.2 billion. This came on the back of increased tax and non-tax revenue and reduced debt servicing costs.
€45,601 million in tax revenue was collected in 2015, an increase of €4,319 million (10.5%) on 2014.
Welcoming the figures, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said:
When once-off factors are accounted for, we have an underlying Exchequer deficit in 2015 of around €3.4 billion compared to an underlying deficit of about €8.6 billion in 2014.
The Minister noted that "while corporation tax accounts for the bulk of the increase, it is encouraging that there were also strong performances from income tax and VAT. This is further evidence of the economic recovery we have witnessed in 2015."
Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin highlighted funding increases for key services in 2015:
Against a background of strong growth in tax revenue we were in a position to make additional funding available by way of Supplementary Estimate to support key services, social supports and increased capital investment. This has facilitated the allocation of additional resources to key areas experiencing increased demand.
Minister Noonan concluded:
The next step in our recovery is to put in place our medium term strategy which will spread the recovery to all sectors of the economy and all regions throughout the country. We are determined to avoid the boom and bust cycles of the past.
For more information read the press release here.