There was a further payment of €1.7 billion from Apple’s tax money into the Government’s coffers last month, according to the Department of Finance’s Exchequer Returns.
The funds relate to a tax judgement that the US multinational lost at the Court of Justice of the European Union when it argued it was not liable to pay Ireland €14bn in taxes.
Excluding the money from Apple, taxes collected last month were up 7.2% at €8.4bn.
However, the figures show there was a significant increase in spending of 22.7% last month at €9.2bn compared to January of last year.
It is understood this is due to a timing issue regarding payroll where there were three paydays last month for public servants and social welfare recipients, instead of the usual two days.
A series of Budget spending increases also took effect.
January is a month when VAT is due to be paid and includes trading for the Christmas period.
VAT of €4.1bn was collected which was a 5.8% increase on the previous year which indicates strong consumer spending.
Income tax, which is a key barometer of the jobs market, was up 2.8% to €2.9bn.
Corporation tax, including the latest money from Apple, was up 59% at €1.8bn.
Excise tax was up 5.2% at €542m.
“Today’s figures show that tax revenues continued to demonstrate steady growth at the start of the year,” Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said.
“In particular, the ongoing expansion of income tax and VAT receipts are a positive indicator of the fundamental strength of our economy,” he added.
However, he said there are clear risks ahead.
“As a small open economy, Ireland is particularly vulnerable to changes in the global economic environment. This underlines the importance of continuing to pursue a balanced and sustainable fiscal policy.
“That is why Government has committed to using the once-off proceeds from the CJEU decision to improve our stock of infrastructure, as well as investing windfall tax revenues in the Future Ireland Fund to prepare for future challenges,” he added.
Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform & Digitalisation Jack Chambers said the January expenditure figures reflect the introduction of measures introduced as part of Budget 2025 – such as the increases to Social Protection weekly rates, the expansion of the school meals scheme and the increased health sector investment are among the areas where Budget 2025 funding is supporting improvements in living standards and public services.
“At end-January 2025, capital expenditure was 51.5% higher than the same period last year,” Minister Chambers said.
“This continues the ramp up of the National Development Plan as well as the Government’s commitment to investing in long-term public infrastructure projects that will address infrastructural deficits, enhance the competitiveness of our economy improve the quality of life for those living and working in Ireland,” he added.
Article Source – Tax take rises in January, €1.7bn of Apple tax money rolls in – RTE