Budget pressure as tax take falls further

There was a further deterioration in tax returns in November, particularly income tax, which could increase the pressure on the Government to meet its 2013 budget targets.

The budget deficit at the end of November was €12.97bn compared with €21.4bn for the same period in 2011. However, last year’s figure included a €3.1bn promissory note payment that was replaced with a Government bond this year and one-off bank recapitalisations in Jul 2011.

The tax take, which came in at €33.8bn for the first 11 months of the year, was €171m less than forecast, with a €267m shortfall for November. The Government forecasts that tax revenues for 2012 will be €210m behind target.