DUBLIN (Reuters) – Irish corporate tax receipts fell year-on-year for the third successive month in October due to a weakness in exports, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector, the finance ministry said on Friday.
Ireland collected 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in corporate tax last month, which is mainly levied on Ireland’s hub of large foreign multinationals, down 45% on the same month last year.
While well short of government expectations, the 15.7 billion euros of corporate tax collected so far this year is down just 2.7% on the first 10 months of 2022, the ministry said.
The overall tax take in the year to the end of October was up 4% compared to the same period last year, driven by a growth in income tax and VAT, the finance ministry said.
The exchequer recorded a 900 million euro deficit in the year to the end of October, down from a surplus of 7.3 billion euros in the same period last year.
That was due to the transfer of 4 billion euros into the state’s national reserve fund, increased current expenditure and a reduction in non-tax revenue, it said.
(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Alison Williams)
