Government set to meet its Budget 2023 targets as Vat and corporation tax receipts boom

Total tax receipts brought in €8bn in the month and are running at €57.8bn since the start of the year, which is up 26% from the same period last year.

At €2bn in the month, corporation taxes brought in €1bn more than collected in September 2021 and it means that total receipts from this single tax source is now running at €13.8bn so far this year.

The Government last week forecast that corporation tax receipts would top €20bn for a new annual record for the whole of 2022.

With a large amount of tax bills paid by companies in the autumn months, the latest receipts could suggest that the €20bn baked into the budget could be exceeded.

Income tax and Vat, two other of the ‘big four’ tax sources, performed strongly in the month, while excise duties fell back.

Income tax receipts which delivered €2.2bn in September are now running at over €21.3bn for the first nine months, up by almost 16% from the same period last year.

Vat brought in €3.1bn in the month for a running total of €15.3bn so far, an increase of 23% from 2021. Revenues from excise duties are down 10% for first nine months by 2% from last year.

“Despite the fall in consumer confidence, Vat receipts appear to be benefiting from price inflation,” said Tom Woods, partner and head of tax at KPMG.