Income tax receipts rise despite closed businesses and unemployment Exchequer returns also note Covid-fuelled welfare spend of €1.6bn
about 3 hours ago
One of the interesting details of April’s exchequer returns was the strength of the income tax receipts at a time when a large part of the economy remains shuttered and 571,111 people were classified by the Central Statistics Office as out of work in March.
Income tax brought in €2.12 billion last month, 3 per cent or €62 million ahead of profile, and 13 per cent up on the same month of 2020, which was effectively the first full month of our Covid-19 lockdown.
Today’s Exchequer figures show that tax revenues in April were €3.1 billion, over €220 million, or 8 per cent, higher than profiled and 20 per cent up on the same month last year.
Income tax and VAT receipts surprisingly strong in first four months of year Tax receipts ahead by 4.2%, latest exchequer figures show
Wed, May 5, 2021, 16:37
The public finances were €12.5 billion in the red last month as spending on pandemic-related supports stayed high.
The fiscal fallout from the pandemic was, however, limited by stronger-than-expected income tax and VAT receipts, suggesting businesses and consumers have become more resilient.
The latest exchequer returns, published by the Department of Finance, show the Government’s budget deficit – on a rolling 12-month basis – was €12.47 billion in April.
Tax receipts for the first four months of the year were €16.1 billion, up €652 million, or 4.2 per cent, on the same period last year.
Extension of rates waiver recommended by tourism recovery group clarechampion.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from clarechampion.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
GOVERNMENT should identify “clear criteria” to determine when Irish tourism can reopen in the context of the revised Living with Covid Plan, according to the first report by Ireland s Tourism Recovery Oversight Group.
With tourism in “survival mode”, businesses and jobs in tourism should also be kept in existence until conditions allow for sustainable recovery, the State tourism group added.
It said the Employee Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) should be maintained in its current form for all businesses until the end of June, and the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) until the end of 2021.
Other recommended measures include extending the sector s 9pc VAT rate to 2025, and the Local Authority Rates Waiver until the end of 2021 for tourism and hospitality businesses.