Corporation tax up 32.5% in August - Dept of Finance

In August, corporation tax payments surged by 32.5% to €2.8 billion compared to the same month last year, partly due to larger multinational corporations being taxed at a higher rate. To date this year, corporation tax revenue has increased by 8.3% to €17.8 billion as income continues to flow in from these large, foreign-owned companies.

Companies generating over €750 million in turnover are now subjected to a 15% tax rate instead of the previous 12.5%, resulting in an extra €1.2 billion in tax payments by the end of August. Despite strong revenue from international firms, excise duty saw a significant decline of 17.4%, dropping to €428 million, due to the government's efforts to reduce taxes on petrol and diesel.

Overall tax revenue so far this year has risen by 6.2% when excluding one-off payments from Apple's tax case. The strong performance in income tax, up 7.7% to €25 billion, driven by a robust job market, has been a key factor in this upward trend. Consumer spending has also been positive, with VAT increasing by 7.3% to €16.3 billion.

Government spending reached €73.7 billion, a 7.5% increase from the previous year. Debt servicing costs decreased by €500 million to €2 billion for the year ending in August.