The State remains on course for another record tax year despite the threat from US tariffs.
According to the latest exchequer returns, tax receipts for the year to the end of July came to €58 billion.
This was €5.6 billion or 11 per cent up on last year’s record total at the same stage.
The strong out-turn was again driven by corporation tax receipts which came to €1.2 billion in July, up nearly €900 million on the same month last year.
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On a cumulative basis, receipts from the business tax came to €16 billion for the seven-month period, up by €3.5 billion year on year.
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However, the latest exchequer data published by the Department of Finance point to a worrying rise in spending.
Total voted expenditure for the period amounted to €60.5 billion, which was €4.8 billion or 8.6 per cent ahead of the same period in 2024.
The figures come on the back of warnings from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) that Government budget policy has “lost its anchor” with spending on a potentially unsustainable trajectory.
The budgetary watchdog said overruns in day-to-day spending are likely to top €2 billion this year.
The exchequer figures show that on a cumulative basis, income tax receipts to the end of July came to €20.3 billion, up nearly 4 per cent on the same period last year, which reflects the strength of the State’s labour market.
VAT receipts in July, which is a VAT-due month, were up marginally at €3.3 billion.
Receipts from the sales tax for the seven months came in at €14.8 billion, up 4.8 per cent year on year.
“Today’s figures show that in terms of tax revenue we are, broadly speaking, where we expected to be at this point in the year: the clear exception is corporation tax, which, at least for now, is well ahead of last year,” Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said.
“As I have said many times, we cannot assume these overperformances will continue indefinitely, particularly in the context of a deeply uncertain international trading environment,” Mr Donohoe said.
The latest exchequer numbers came as US president Donald Trump announced details of a new Apple pledge to invest $100 billion in US manufacturing which will raise concerns about its Irish operations and the level of investment it is planning here.
At a headline level, an exchequer surplus recordced in July came to €4.1 billion, an improvement of €0.7 billion on the same period last year.
However, excluding the once-off receipts arising from the Apple tax ruling last year, the underlying surplus was €0.8 billion or €2.5 billion behind the same period last year.
“The latest exchequer figures for July will provide some comfort to the Government in advance of October’s Budget 2026 package, although growth in both income tax and VAT receipts has slowed,” Peter Vale, tax partner with consultancy Grant Thornton Ireland said.
“After a slight dip in June income tax returns, there will be some concern that the figures for July followed a similar path, up only marginally on the same month last year,” he said.
Mr Vale, however, warned that weaker-than-expected VAT numbers in July "would indicate a slowdown in consumer spending, with sentiment likely not helped by the ongoing tariff negotiations".
