Ireland trims 2023 budget surplus, corporate tax forecasts
© Reuters. General view of the city centre skyline showing residential and commercial buildings in Dublin, Ireland, January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo
Ireland has collected record levels of tax in recent years, driven by a fast-growing economy and booming corporate tax returns. The finance ministry still expects the tax take to rise by 6% this year, but that is down on the 7% forecast in April. Having more than doubled in the space of two years to make up 27% of the entire tax take, corporate tax receipts - mostly paid by a small number of multinational companies - were also forecast to rise by 7% this year.
As a result it lowered the 2023 projected budget surplus to 9.6 billion euros or 1.8% of gross domestic product , from the 10 billion euros forecast in July. Ireland is one of the few euro zone economies whose public finances are in surplus.