Irish 2026 tax take up 4.2% year-on-year at the end of April

DUBLIN, May 6 (Reuters) - Ireland collected 4.2% more tax ​at the ⁠end of April than in ​the same period last year when the one-off proceeds of a ruling on Apple back taxes are ​excluded, ‌the finance ministry said on Wednesday.

A surge in corporate tax receipts has driven Ireland's overall ⁠tax take to record levels in each ⁠of the past five years, contributing ​to significant budget surpluses during most of that time, even as spending has risen sharply.

The finance ministry upgraded its forecasts last month and now expects to take in ​4.8% more ‌tax this year than in 2025, excluding the Apple back taxes. The increase in the first four months was driven by a 5.7% jump in income tax receipts and a 4.5% rise in VAT payments.

Less than 10% of corporate ​tax is paid in the four months and receipts were up 8.6% year-on-year during ‌that period. The finance ministry expects corporate tax receipts to rise by 7% to 35 billion euros this year and ‌account for almost a third of all tax collected.

Government expenditure increased at a faster rate in April and was 8.9% higher year-on-year due to a 9.3% rise ​in spending on public services and a 5.3% boost in investment in capital projects.

Ireland had a headline ‌exchequer deficit of 4.7 billion euros ($5.53 billion) at the end of April, though that was largely due to the timing of transfers to new sovereign wealth and savings funds, ⁠the ⁠finance ministry said.

While the ministry expects to run ‌an exchequer deficit of 1.2 billion euros this year, it also hiked its forecasts last month for a ​2026 general government ​surplus of 9.2 billion euros from the 5.1 billion euros ‌expected six months ago.

The general government balance, which includes all public sector revenues and expenditure, would equate to a surplus of 2.5% of modified gross national income. ($1 = 0.8505 euros) (Reporting by Padraic Halpin Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

Apple