{"id":24238,"date":"2021-12-02T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T20:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24238"},"modified":"2021-12-03T09:45:43","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T14:45:43","slug":"irelands-deficit-narrows-to-5-5-billion-in-november","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24238","title":{"rendered":"Ireland’s Deficit Narrows To $5.5 Billion In November"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe (PA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Public finances are continuing to improve, with the deficit to the exchequer narrowing to \u20ac4.9 billion ($5.54 billion) at the end of November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That compares with a 12-month rolling deficit that stood at \u20ac7.4 billion ($8.36 billion) at the end of October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reopening of society, higher employment and VAT returns, and a strong corporate tax take have been credited for the reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Total tax revenues last month were \u20ac11.3 billion ($12.77 billion), which Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said was a sign of the \u201cstrength of our economic recovery\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cVAT receipts, in particular, reflect the significant rebound in consumer spending, while the income tax performance reflects the ongoing recovery in the labor market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndeed, figures published last week show that the level of employment is now back at pre-pandemic levels, though this varies across sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCorporation tax receipts in November were very strong, reflective of a very robust performance of many higher-technology sectors during the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corporate tax revenue amounted to over \u20ac4 billion ($4.5 billion) in November, an increase of 31 per cent on the same period last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VAT take was \u20ac2.6 billion ($2.94 billion), almost 25 per cent higher than the same period in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the positive performance, Mr Donohoe cautioned that there were many fiscal challenges ahead, \u201cincluding the challenges now posed by the Omicron variant\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is why, once the pandemic has passed, we must realign public revenue and expenditure while continuing to invest in public services, particularly in capital infrastructure,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government spending to the end of November amounted to \u20ac74.7 billion ($84.4 billion), \u20ac1.2 billion ($1.36 billion) or 1.7 per cent ahead on the same period in 2020.<\/p>\n

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