Record €85bn tax take as Government spending continues to climb

The Government collected a record €85 billion in tax in the 10 months to October but spending continues to rise at a worrying rate.

The latest exchequer returns, published by the Department of Finance, showed total tax revenue stood at €84.9 billion at the end of last month.

When receipts from the Apple tax case are stripped out, the total was €7.9 billion or 10.3 per cent ahead of the same time last year.

The strong performance was led by income tax which generated €31 billion for the 10-month period, 8.4 per cent up on last year, reflecting a buoyant labour market.

Government coffers were also buoyed by strong corporate tax receipts, which took in €23.9 billion, 23.4 per cent ahead of last year.

The concentration of corporate tax receipts around a small number of US multinationals remains a significant risk for the exchequer.

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In 2025, just three firms – Apple, Microsoft and Eli Lilly – accounted for 46 per cent of receipts from the business tax.

October is not a VAT-due month with only “modest” receipts collected during the month, but on a cumulative basis, the sales tax generated €20.5 billion, 7.3 per cent up on the 2025 total at this stage.

Total gross voted expenditure to the end of October amounted to €93.6 billion, which was 7.4 per cent up on last year.

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The Government has come under pressure to rein in spending and save more of its corporate tax windfall.

Overruns in departmental budgets are expected to amount to €500 million this year.

But the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has warned that there will be close to €2 billion of overruns in this year’s figures.

Much of the overrun total stems from an overspend in health.

In a bid to rein in spending, the Government has adopted a new spending framework which pledges to keep the annual lift in expenditure inside a 6 per cent threshold.