Brian Keegan: Ireland may be coping with Covid hit better than most

We have a model of taxation that makes government funding more resilient than that available in many other countries. 

Resilient efficiently: When petrol prices on international markets increase, so too do the Exchequer receipts from taxes on fuel.

Last week's exchequer returns, supplemented by the publication of the Revenue's headline results for 2021, suggest that by accident if not by design, Ireland has ended up with a model of taxation which makes government funding more resilient than that available in many other countries. 

As a general rule, when an economy expands, tax receipts increase in direct proportion. In November last, the European Commission estimated that the Irish economy would grow by almost 15% in 2021. Yet tax revenue in 2021 increased by almost 20%.