Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Finance his assessment of Exchequer returns to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30028/23]

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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125. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on corporation tax receipts to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30027/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 106, 125 and 133 together.

Overall, tax receipts to date have amounted to €33.1 billion. This has been driven by strong income tax, VAT and corporation tax. Total tax revenue was up by €3.1 billion or over 10 per cent on the same period last year.

In relation to income tax, receipts of €13 billion to end-May were up by €1.1 billion or over 9 per cent on the same period last year driven by a robust labour market, with the unemployment rate now at its lowest level in decades.

Corporation tax receipts of €6.3 billion are ahead of the same period last year by €1.1 billion or over 20 per cent. However, it is worth noting that May is a major month for corporation tax and receipts of €2.7 billion fell compared to May 2022, by €0.2 billion or 6 per cent, reflecting weaker profitability and higher repayments. As I have said on many occasions, this is a volatile and potentially unreliable revenue stream. This decline highlights that, while headline figures may appear positive, there are real underlying vulnerabilities in our public finances.

In relation to the indirect taxes, VAT receipts to end-May totalled €10 billion, €1 billion or 12 per cent higher than in the same period last year driven by the continued resilience of consumption. Excise receipts of €2.2 billion were broadly flat on last year, reflecting the impact of the policy measures the Government has taken to address the cost of living challenge.

On the expenditure side, total exchequer spending to end-May amounted to €42.5 billion. Within this, gross voted expenditure stood at €33.8 billion, €2 billion ahead of the same period last year, and non-voted expenditure accounted for €8.6 billion.

Overall, an Exchequer deficit of €0.6 billion was recorded to end-May. This compares to a surplus of €1.4 billion in the same period last year. This deterioration was driven by the transfer of €4 billion to the National Reserve Fund (NRF) in February of this year.

On a 12-month rolling basis, the Exchequer recorded a surplus of €3 billion. However, excluding one-offs and, in particular, estimated ‘windfall’ corporation tax receipts, an underlying deficit of almost €4 billion was recorded on a 12-month rolling sum basis. This is a better picture of the underlying health of the public finances.