Tax revenues bring in €3.9bn haul in February despite growth slowing for income tax receipts

Figures the latest indicator economy is weathering borrowing cost hikes and highest consumer price inflation for decades

Income tax receipts rose 5% to over €2.2bn in February but marked a 'slowdown to the very strong growth rate seen in recent months'. 

The Government collected €3.9bn in tax revenues in February, up by €500m from a year earlier, as Vat, income, and corporation tax receipts continued to perform, the latest exchequer figures show.

The Department of Finance figures are the latest indicator that suggests that the Irish economy is so far weathering the sharp increases in borrowing costs for households and businesses, and the highest consumer price inflation for decades. 

Income tax receipts rose by 5% to over €2.2bn in the month, but marked nonetheless "a slowdown to the very strong growth rate seen in recent months", the department said. 

Concerns had been raised about the effects of multinationals shedding relatively highly-paid tech staff, while surveys suggest that employment continues to grow across the economy. 

At almost €600m, corporation tax revenues were up by €377m, or 172%, from a year earlier, despite the early months of the year not traditionally being major months for large companies to pay their tax bills.

The figures may suggest the stellar performance of corporation tax receipts — which brought in a record tax haul of €22.6bn last year — is extending into this year.

In a non-payments month, Vat receipts rose 45% in February to €380m. Excise duties at €360m were down 6%, the only one of the major four tax sources to post a decline in revenues from February 2022, the figures show. 

Surveys last month suggested that the Irish economy was holding up well so far to the cost-of-living crisis that has squeezed household finances and led to a sharp rise in company costs.    

Central Statistics Office figures show unemployment at the end of the year was running at its lowest level for 21 years. Picture: Larry Cummins

Unemployment, however, appears not to be a feature of the latest crisis, as it has been during economic shocks in the past.                 

Central Statistics Office figures have shown that unemployment at the end of the year was running at its lowest level for 21 years, with employment levels in the economy running at a record levels.

The European Commission last month forecast the Irish economy will grow almost 5% this year, the fastest growth of any EU state. 

Peter Vale, tax partner at Grant Thornton Ireland, said that tax receipts had so far held up well. 

"In summary, two solid months to start the year for the exchequer and good signs for the year ahead, despite a slight weakening in income tax receipts," Mr Vale said.