DUBLIN: Ireland’s tax take was 4.1 percent or over 800 million euros above target at the end of June, with income, corporation and value-added taxes all growing strongly, data showed on Thursday.
Government spending in the first six months of the year was also 1.5 percent or just over 300 million euros (213.3 million pounds)lower than anticipated, Ireland’s finance department said.
The exchequer posted a deficit of 292 million euro at the end of June, down sharply from a deficit of 4.9 billion at the same point last year.
If one-off items are excluded, the end-June deficit would have been 2.7 billion euros smaller than a year earlier, rather than the 4.6 billion euros reduction reported, it said.
Ireland’s budget deficit is forecast by government to fall below 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year.
