Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 116: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on the Exchequer returns for the first five months of 2007. [17160/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the monthly Exchequer Returns are available on my Department's website, as are my Department's tax receipts, expenditure and debt service profiles for 2007. The Exchequer Balance to end-May 2007 showed a surplus of €266 million compared to a surplus of €1,841 million for the same period last year. The Budget day forecast is for a deficit of €546 million for 2007 as a whole. Exchequer tax receipts to end-May were, at €18,603 million, just €19 million or 0.1 per cent below profile. They were up 9.6 per cent on the same period last year. This compares with a Budget day target of an increase of 7.8 per cent for 2007 as a whole.

Corporation tax receipts were €221 million above profile. The other main tax-heads were all below profile. Stamp duties were €16 million below target, VAT was €28 million below, income tax was €56 million below, capital taxes were €71 million below and excise duties were €120 million below target. This resulted in overall tax receipts at end-May being almost exactly in line with profile.

Overall issues for net voted expenditure in the period to end-May 2007 were €88 million or 0.5 per cent above profile. Net voted capital expenditure at end-May was €160 million higher than expected due to stronger than expected progress on a number of projects while net voted current expenditure was €72 million below profile.