Government rakes in extra €400 million

THE continuing consumer boom helped push Government revenues for the first four months of the year to almost €13 billion, over €400m ahead of estimates, according to the latest Exchequer figures published yesterday.

The statement showed revenue continued to outpace expenditure between January 1 and the end of April, with a surplus of almost €500m. This compares with a deficit of €1.2bn for last year.

The drivers for the buoyant figures were VAT, excise, stamp duty and income tax. Stamp duty topped €1 billion reflecting the continuing property boom. Some €4.4bn has been taken in VAT, showing the State gets more income from it now than it does from income tax — €3.6bn at the end of April. However, Government expenditure (especially in health, social welfare, and education) also increased substantially in April and now stands at just over €11bn for the year.