Corporation tax receipts increased by 500% in past 20 years, figures show 

Research conducted by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council earlier this year found that almost half of the corporation tax collected in 2024 came from just three companies, underlying the extent to which Ireland has come to rely on such income. File picture: Jim Dyson/Getty

Corporation tax receipts have increased by more than 500% over the past 20 years, figures have revealed.

The data from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) — which provides independent fiscal advice to the Oireachtas — details how corporation tax in Ireland in 2025 stood at €34.7bn, up from €5.5bn in 2005.

By contrast, Ireland’s overall tax take rose by just 171% in the same timeframe, from €39.9bn to €107.1bn, showcasing how the outsized contribution of corporation tax receipts has come to dominate the economy.

Ireland has for many years been hugely reliant on taxation income from big tech firms, the majority of which have bases here, often for their European headquarters.

The dependence on such receipts has led to a distortion in Ireland’s gross domestic product (GDP), prompting many economists to dismiss GDP as an accurate measure of Ireland’s actual growth.

Research conducted by the economic watchdog, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, earlier this year found that almost half of the corporation tax collected in 2024 — some €13bn — came from just three companies, underlying the extent to which Ireland has come to rely on such income, a fact acknowledged by the PBO.

“Income taxes and corporation tax have become more significant sources of Exchequer revenue, reflecting the growing importance of employment, earnings, and company profits to overall tax receipts,” the PBO said.

“This shift has supported growth in total net receipts, but it also has implications for the stability and risk profile of the tax base,” it added, noting that corporation tax is “volatile” and “can be affected by the performance of a small number of large firms”.

In its new dataset, the PBO notes that most of the corporation tax take in the country is concentrated in Dublin and Cork, where most of the larger multinational companies are based.

Consumption taxes — those, such as Vat, associated with services — meanwhile, which accounted for close to 50% of the State’s earnings before the economic crash of 2008, are shown to have decreased over the austerity period after 2010 before rising to their current level of €30.1bn in 2025.

Separately, income tax has tripled since 2005 — and almost quadrupled since 2010 when recession-related unemployment was at its highest — to its current level of €36.6bn last year.