The public finances are in rude good health with tax revenues well ahead and spending marginally behind Department of Finance projections.
Exchequer returns for the third quarter published today show tax receipts at €1,638 million are 7.1 per cent ahead of forecast though nearly half of this made up of the once-off windfall from revenue investigations and delayed capital gains tax receipts.
VAT, stamp duty and general income tax are all ahead of budget due to a reinvigorated economy and the buoyant construction sector. However corporation tax receipts are down but may pick up as the bulk of these payments are made in the third quarter.
While receipts from excise duty is up 10.4 per cent there has been a fall-off in income tobacco excise. The Department of Finance estimated that the smoking ban has led to a €50 million decline in tobacco excise receipts.
On the expenditure side, current spending is €334 below profile though a number of timing factors mean that the overall spending target is expected to be met.
This year is the first in which the multi-annual spending envelope system has come into effect and surprisingly capital spending is currently running at €740 million below profile.
Spending on roads and public transport is lagging €65 million below budget. In terms of current spending the departments of agriculture, education and health are all below their spending profiles.
All things remaining equal, the Government is on track to reduce the exchequer borrowing requirement from €2.8 billion to €1.2 billion and the General Government Balance used for EU-wide comparisons will be in balance.