THE Government collected 20pc more tax than planned last month as the economy boomed and more people returned to work.

The latest exchequer figures, the last before the intense horse trading that will proceed October’s Budget, show the economy is quickly picking up. The data gives Finance Minister Michael Noonan room for a much more generous Budget than originally planned.

The Tax man collected €2.54bn in a single month but had only planned to collect €2.1bn. The Government has now taken €24.9bn in taxes from the public since the beginning of the year.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan is benefitting as the economy surges in many areas. Corporation tax, the taxers paid by companies, came in 82pc ahead of target in August at €259m. Stamp duties from house and share sales are 35.6pc ahead of target so far this year.

Income tax, the single biggest source of taxation, was 9.7pc ahead of target in August at €1.3bn.

While the better-than-expected performance will spark hopes of a give-away Budget, the country remains mired in debt. The gap between what the State takes in was €6.33bn in the first eight months of the year. That was less than the same period last year but remains a formidable deficit.

Taxpayers shelled out €5.5bn in interest payments alone so far this year.

Online Editors