Tax figures leave little scope for budget surprises

September figures show improved income tax performance, but Vat falls behind target

Brendan O'Leary and John Palmer of the Department of Finance at a press briefing on the Q3 Exchequer figures. Pic: RollingNews.ie

A week ahead of Budget 2018, the latest figures show that while the Government is broadly on track to meet its financial targets for this year, there was no significant boost from tax revenue in September.

Overall, the tax take for the first nine months of the year is still slightly behind what the Department of Finance set out in forecasts earlier this year, leaving finance minister Paschal Donohoe little scope forany surprise tax giveaways in the upcoming budget.