The State’s corporate tax boom has generated €156 billion in just 10 years, figures from the Department of Finance show.
Despite various international clampdowns, including changes to US tax law and the introduction of a 15 per cent minimum tax rate, receipts from the business tax here have ballooned by more than 300 per cent in the past decade, rising from €6.9 billion in 2015 to €28 billion last year.
The €156 billion total includes €11 billion from last year’s Apple tax ruling.
The Republic has, ironically, benefited from a global crackdown on corporate tax avoidance with several US multinationals including Apple, Google and Microsoft, shifting more profits to units in the Republic and away from offshore locations such as the Cayman Islands.
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Despite the ongoing uncertainty around US tariffs, Department of Finance officials expect corporate tax revenue to increase again this year to approximately €30 billion.
The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) is also predicting receipts to rise by a further €5 billion from 2026 onwards as additional revenue from the new minimum tax rate of 15 per cent flows into the exchequer.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe noted in recent days that approximately €16 billion of these excess receipts will have been saved in the State’s two sovereign wealth funds by the end of 2025.
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But Ifac has criticised the Government for allowing day-to-day spending to increase too quickly and for not saving more of these tax receipts.
“If you exclude excess corporation tax, the Government is spending more than it is collecting in revenue,” said Ifac chief economist Niall Conroy.
“This comes at a time when the economy is performing well, with record-high levels of employment,” he said.
“Introducing the two savings funds is an important and welcome step,” Mr Conroy said.
“However, the Government should be saving more into these funds when it is receiving huge amounts of corporation tax revenue and the economy is strong,” he said.
“By saving more now, we would be better placed to deal with future challenges such as an ageing population and climate change,” he added.
